FAXQ(8C)

💖 FAXQ(8C) — the HylaFAX queue manager process 💖

okay bestie, sit down, hydrate, because we're talking about faxq, the HylaFAX queue manager process, and honestly? she's the backbone of this whole operation. 👑

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

/usr/bin/faxq [ -D ] [ -q queue-dir ] [ -c config ]

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So. faxq is the central queueing agent for HylaFAX, and the vibes here are main character energy because there is exactly one (and only one) faxq process normally running at all times. No clones, no duplicates, just her. 🌸

Her whole job? scheduling, preparing, and initiating outbound facsimile jobs — and potentially other types of jobs as well, iykyk. She's booked and busy.

faxq can run by itself to provide outbound-only services, or she can run together with one or more faxgetty(8C) processes, in which case you get inbound services (e.g. receiving facsimile). Pick your era. 💅

When faxq is run by itself, the set of available modems must be specified using the faxmodem(8C) command. And listen — each modem specified this way is assumed to exist and to be capable of use as a facsimile modem. Like, she's taking your word for it. No vibe check on the hardware. 😭

When faxq is run in conjunction with faxgetty processes, you do not need to use faxmodem to specify modems — instead the programs communicate information about the status and capabilities of each modem. And the latter setup? It provides a more robust and powerful system and is the intended way for the software to operate. periodt. ✨

Now, how does she find out about jobs? faxq receives notification of outbound jobs to process from the hfaxd(8C) process that implements the server-side of the HylaFAX client-server protocol. 💌 Notification comes through messages sent to a FIFO special file that faxq listens to. That same file is also used by other administrative programs such as faxquit(8C).

And the config situation — many aspects of faxq operation may be controlled through a configuration file. It lives in the spooler hierarchy in the etc subdirectory and is named config (as opposed to the per-modem configuration files named config.devid). Consult hylafax-config(5F) for detailed information on this configuration file. 📓

Cute detail: faxq automatically re-reads its configuration file if it has been changed. She's observant like that.

It is also possible to dynamically change configuration parameters in a running process with the faxconfig(8C) program. Beware however — parameters changed in this way will be reset to the values specified in the configuration file if the file is re-read. 🙈 so don't get too attached to your hotfix.

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🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• -q dir — the specified directory is treated as the spooling area. The default spooling area, /var/spool/hylafax, is defined at the time the software is built.
• -D — this option forces faxq to remain attached to the controlling tty from which it was invoked. In normal operation faxq will fork(2) and disassociate itself from the controlling tty. This option is useful for debugging. 🐛
• -c config — treat config as a configuration parameter specification that is interpreted after reading the configuration file. For example, `-c servertracing:0x4f` would set the ServerTracing configuration parameter to 0x4f, overriding any setting in the configuration file. slay 💅

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🌈 FILES 🌈

• /var/spool/hylafax/FIFO — FIFO special file for submitting commands
• /var/spool/hylafax/etc/config — configuration file

Consult hylafax-server(5F) for a complete discussion of the structure and content of the spooling area. 🫶

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💜 SEE ALSO 💜

faxabort(8C), faxconfig(8C), faxmodem(8C), faxquit(8C), faxstate(8C), getty(8C), hylafax-server(5F), hylafax-config(5F).

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! this edition of the FAXQ(8C) manual dropped way back on October 27, 1995 and it's still serving looks. go forth and queue responsibly. 💖✨🎀🦋