xenial (1) openvt.1.gz

NAME

       openvt - start a program on a new virtual terminal (VT).

SYNOPSIS

       openvt [-c vtnumber] [OPTIONS] [--] command

DESCRIPTION

       openvt  will find the first available VT, and run on it the given command with the given command options,
       standard input, output and error are directed to that terminal. The current search path ($PATH)  is  used
       to find the requested command. If no command is specified then the environment variable $SHELL is used.

   OPTIONS
       -c, --console=VTNUMBER
              Use  the  given  VT  number  and  not  the first available. Note you must have write access to the
              supplied VT for this to work;

       -f, --force
              Force opening a VT without checking whether it is already in use;

       -e, --exec
              Directly  execute  the  given  command,  without  forking.   This  option  is  meant  for  use  in
              /etc/inittab.   If you want to use this feature in another context, be aware that openvt has to be
              a session leader in order for -e to work.  See setsid(2) or setsid(1) on how to achieve this.

       -s, --switch
              Switch to the new VT when starting the command. The VT of the new command will  be  made  the  new
              current VT;

       -u, --user
              Figure  out  the  owner  of  the current VT, and run login as that user.  Suitable to be called by
              init. Shouldn't be used with -c or -l;

       -l, --login
              Make the command a login shell. A - is prepended to the name of the command to be executed;

       -v, --verbose
              Be a bit more verbose;

       -w, --wait
              wait for command to complete. If -w and -s are used together then openvt will switch back  to  the
              controlling terminal when the command completes;

       -V, --version
              print program version and exit;

       -h, --help
              show this text and exit.

       --     end of options to openvt.

NOTE

       If openvt is compiled with a getopt_long() and you wish to set options to the command to be run, then you
       must supply the end of options -- flag before the command.

EXAMPLES

       openvt can be used to start a shell on the next free VT, by using the command:

       openvt bash

       To start the shell as a login shell, use:

       openvt -l bash

       To get a long listing you must supply the -- separator:

       openvt -- ls -l

HISTORY

       Earlier, openvt was called open.  It was written by Jon Tombs <jon@gtex02.us.es or  jon@robots.ox.ac.uk>.
       The -w idea is from "sam".

SEE ALSO

       chvt(1), doshell(8), login(1)