TQSL(5)

✨ NAME 💖

okay bestie, welcome to TQSL(5), which is the File Formats Manual page for TQSL — and what it does is digitally sign amateur radio contact logs. that's it. that's the whole job. iconic behavior honestly 🎀

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

tqsl -i [certificate-file]...
tqsl -s [stationlocation]...

tqsl [OPTIONS] [log-file]...

three ways in, no cap. import a cert, edit a station location, or just run it with options and log files. 🦋

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🫶 DESCRIPTION 🫶

so TrustedQSL is a file format and a set of procedures, and the whole vibe is: sending digitally signed QSL information — that's logs of contacts between amateur radio operators, bestie, think of them like little receipts that say "yes we absolutely talked on the radio" 💌. One notable service that makes use of TrustedQSL is ARRL's Logbook of the World. ate.

the tqsl program is what digitally signs contact log files using a digital certificate. she's also the one that generates requests for digital certificates and stores the resulting received digital certificates. (fun lore drop: certificates used to be handled by a separate program, tqslcert, but all functions are now handled by tqsl — she absorbed her sister and became the main character 👑).

this manual page briefly documents the tqsl program. the complete documentation is also available, and it lives right here:

tqsl: file:///usr/share/TrustedQSL/help/tqslapp/main.htm

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💅 OPTIONS 💅

tqsl accepts these command line options: (all of them, every single one, we do not skip, we do not summarise, that's the rule 🫡)

• -a, --action= action [abort, all, compliant, or ask] — pick a default dialog action for when non-compliant QSOs get detected (that's cases like invalid callsigns, or QSOs that were already uploaded — messy 💀). abort makes TQSL abort signing the moment an invalid QSO is processed. all signs all the QSOs, straight up ignoring errors. compliant means invalid QSOs should be skipped. and ask does exactly what it says — asks the user how to proceed 🥺
• -b, --begindate= begin_date and -e, --enddate= end_date — give a start date and an end date for the QSOs to be signed. if they're present, any QSOs before the begin date get ignored, and any after the end date get ignored. if either begin or end is omitted, then that corresponding limit is just ignored. you should specify -d with this option to suppress the normal date range dialog, because these options will override the user-specified dates if given. bestie they will simply steamroll them 😭
• -c, --callsign= callsign — set the default callsign for log signing.
• -d, --nodate — suppress the date-range dialog. if present, the QSO date-range dialog will not be shown for files that follow this option on the command line. quiet luxury 🌸
• -f, --verify=option [ignore, reportl, or update] — specify the QSO verification action for QTH details. this option controls how location information in an ADIF file gets handled. using ignore means TQSL should ignore location data. using report makes TQSL report any discrepancies between the currently selected Station Location and the ADIF location information. using updaate causes the new location details from the ADIF file to be used, overriding the Station Location details — (yes it's spelled updaate in here, that's canon, we don't fix canon 💀).
• -h, --help — displays the command line usage summary. your little emergency exit 🫶
• -i, --import= filename — import a certificate — either a signed response (.tq6) or a certificate stored with a private key in PKCS#12 format (.p12). two flavors, both slay ✨
• -l, --location= location_name — selects an existing station location. this location will be used for the commands that follow. and if the station location doesn't exist, tqsl will just exit. she's not going to argue, she's just leaving 🚪💨
• -n, --updates — check for updates to TQSL, to the configuration file, and for certificate expiration. a little wellness check for the whole ecosystem 💖
• -o, --outut= output_file — writes the resulting signed log file to output_file instead of a default name based on the input log-file name. (and yes, the flag is spelled --outut in here, that is the actual flag, do not come for me 🙈)
• -p, --password= password — specify the passphrase for the callsign certificate</b> being used to sign a log. 🔐
• -s, --editlocation location-name — add or edit a station location. if there's a preceding -l option, the specified location will be edited. if there's no preceding -l option, then a new station location is being added. it reads the room, basically ✨
• -t, --diagnose= filename — open a diagnostic trace file at startup. this file will log internal TQSL function calls for debugging purposes. nerd mode: activated 🧚
• -u, --upload — upload the log file. if this argument is used, the input files will be signed and then automatically uploaded to the Logbook of the World web site for processing. she does the paperwork and the mailing, obsessed 😭
• -v, --version — display the version number of tqsl and exit. quick lil peek, then gone 💅
• -w, --wipe — delete the contact upload database. ⚠️ this should be used only for cases where that database has become corrupted, typically due to Oracle BerkeleyDB misbehavior. > bestie this is the nuke button. it is not a vibe. it is a last resort. respect it. 🚨
• -x, --batch (or) -q, --quiet — exit tqsl. if this argument is used it should be the last one on the command line. if this argument is not present, tqsl will begin normal operation after successfully processing all command-line arguments. last one out, lights off 🌙
• log-files — any command-line parameter that is not an option or an option's argument will be treated as the name of a log file (ADIF or Cabrillo) to be signed. the resulting signed file (.tq8) will be placed in the same directory as the log file, and it will overwrite any existing .tq8 file of the same name. (Note: if this option is not preceded by a -l option that selects the station location to be used for signing, the Select Station Location for Signing dialog will be presented.) file names that contain spaces or other shell-special characters should be quoted in a manner suitable for the operating system and shell that's being used. and if -u is used, the signed log is not saved to disk but is instead uploaded and submitted to Logbook of the World. ✈️

N.B.: if the private key needed to sign a log is protected by a password, the user will be prompted to supply that password for each file being signed. every single one. yes, really. bring snacks 🍓

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

trustedqsl was written by "American Radio Relay League, Inc." and the TrustedQSL authors. please see the AUTHORS.txt file in the source distribution for a list of contributors. give them their flowers 💐

this manual page was originally prepared by Kamal Mostafa <kamal@whence.com>, for the Debian project (and may be used by others). 🫶

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and that's the whole page, bestie — February 3, 2025, straight from the TQSL(5) File Formats Manual, that's the source/version and the date, periodt 💅🌈