NAME

       wpa_cli - WPA command line client

SYNOPSIS

       wpa_cli  [  -p  path  to  ctrl  sockets ] [ -g path to global ctrl_interface socket ] [ -i
       ifname ] [ -hvB ] [ -a action file ] [ -P pid file ] [ -G ping interval ] [ command ... ]

OVERVIEW

       wpa_cli is a text-based frontend program for interacting with wpa_supplicant. It  is  used
       to  query  current  status,  change configuration, trigger events, and request interactive
       user input.

       wpa_cli can show the current authentication status,  selected  security  mode,  dot11  and
       dot1x  MIBs,  etc.  In  addition, it can configure some variables like EAPOL state machine
       parameters and trigger events like reassociation and  IEEE  802.1X  logoff/logon.  wpa_cli
       provides  a  user  interface  to  request  authentication  information,  like username and
       password, if these are not included in the configuration. This can be used  to  implement,
       e.g.,  one-time-passwords or generic token card authentication where the authentication is
       based on a challenge-response that uses an external device for generating the response.

       The control interface of wpa_supplicant can be configured to allow  non-root  user  access
       (ctrl_interface GROUP= parameter in the configuration file). This makes it possible to run
       wpa_cli with a normal user account.

       wpa_cli supports two modes: interactive and  command  line.  Both  modes  share  the  same
       command set and the main difference is in interactive mode providing access to unsolicited
       messages (event messages, username/password requests).

       Interactive mode is started when wpa_cli is executed without including the  command  as  a
       command  line  parameter. Commands are then entered on the wpa_cli prompt. In command line
       mode, the same commands are entered as command line arguments for wpa_cli.

INTERACTIVE AUTHENTICATION PARAMETERS REQUEST

       When wpa_supplicant need authentication parameters, like username and password, which  are
       not present in the configuration file, it sends a request message to all attached frontend
       programs, e.g., wpa_cli in interactive mode. wpa_cli  shows  these  requests  with  "CTRL-
       REQ-<type>-<id>:<text>"  prefix. <type> is IDENTITY, PASSWORD, or OTP (one-time-password).
       <id> is a unique identifier for the current network. <text> is description of the request.
       In case of OTP request, it includes the challenge from the authentication server.

       The  reply  to these requests can be given with identity, password, and otp commands. <id>
       needs to be copied from the matching request.  password  and  otp  commands  can  be  used
       regardless  of  whether  the  request was for PASSWORD or OTP. The main difference between
       these two commands  is  that  values  given  with  password  are  remembered  as  long  as
       wpa_supplicant  is  running  whereas  values  given  with  otp are used only once and then
       forgotten, i.e., wpa_supplicant will ask frontend for a new value for every use.  This can
       be used to implement one-time-password lists and generic token card -based authentication.

       Example request for password and a matching reply:

              CTRL-REQ-PASSWORD-1:Password needed for SSID foobar
              > password 1 mysecretpassword

       Example request for generic token card challenge-response:

              CTRL-REQ-OTP-2:Challenge 1235663 needed for SSID foobar
              > otp 2 9876

COMMAND ARGUMENTS

       -p path
              Change the path where control sockets should be found.

       -g control socket path
              Connect  to  the  global  control  socket  at  the  indicated  path  rather than an
              interface-specific control socket.

       -i ifname
              Specify the interface that is being  configured.   By  default,  choose  the  first
              interface found with a control socket in the socket path.

       -h     Help.  Show a usage message.

       -v     Show version information.

       -B     Run as a daemon in the background.

       -a file
              Run  in  daemon mode executing the action file based on events from wpa_supplicant.
              The specified file will be executed with the first argument set to  interface  name
              and  second  to  "CONNECTED" or "DISCONNECTED" depending on the event.  This can be
              used to execute networking tools required to configure the interface.

              Additionally,  three  environmental  variables   are   available   to   the   file:
              WPA_CTRL_DIR,  WPA_ID,  and  WPA_ID_STR. WPA_CTRL_DIR contains the absolute path to
              the  ctrl_interface  socket.  WPA_ID  contains  the  unique  network_id  identifier
              assigned  to  the active network, and WPA_ID_STR contains the content of the id_str
              option.

       -P file
              Set the location of the PID file.

       -G ping interval
              Set the interval (in seconds) at which wpa_cli pings the supplicant.

       command
              Run a command.  The available commands are listed in the next section.

COMMANDS

       The following commands are available:

       status get current WPA/EAPOL/EAP status

       mib    get MIB variables (dot1x, dot11)

       help   show this usage help

       interface [ifname]
              show interfaces/select interface

       level <debug level>
              change debug level

       license
              show full wpa_cli license

       logoff IEEE 802.1X EAPOL state machine logoff

       logon  IEEE 802.1X EAPOL state machine logon

       set    set variables (shows list of variables when run without arguments)

       pmksa  show PMKSA cache

       reassociate
              force reassociation

       reconfigure
              force wpa_supplicant to re-read its configuration file

       preauthenticate <BSSID>
              force preauthentication

       identity <network id> <identity>
              configure identity for an SSID

       password <network id> <password>
              configure password for an SSID

       pin <network id> <pin>
              configure pin for an SSID

       otp <network id> <password>
              configure one-time-password for an SSID

       bssid <network id> <BSSID>
              set preferred BSSID for an SSID

       list_networks
              list configured networks

       terminate
              terminate wpa_supplicant

       quit   exit wpa_cli

SEE ALSO

       wpa_supplicant(8)

LEGAL

       wpa_supplicant is copyright (c) 2003-2014, Jouni Malinen <j@w1.fi> and contributors.   All
       Rights Reserved.

       This  program  is  licensed  under  the  BSD  license  (the  one with advertisement clause
       removed).

                                          06 August 2024                               WPA_CLI(8)