NAME

       getpass - get a password

SYNOPSIS

       #include <unistd.h>

       char *getpass(const char *prompt);

   Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see feature_test_macros(7)):

       getpass():
           Since glibc 2.2.2:
               _BSD_SOURCE ||
                   (_XOPEN_SOURCE >= 500 ||
                       _XOPEN_SOURCE && _XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED) &&
                   !(_POSIX_C_SOURCE >= 200112L || _XOPEN_SOURCE >= 600)
           Before glibc 2.2.2:
               none

DESCRIPTION

       This  function  is obsolete.  Do not use it.  If you want to read input without terminal echoing enabled,
       see the description of the ECHO flag in termios(3).

       The getpass() function opens /dev/tty (the controlling terminal  of  the  process),  outputs  the  string
       prompt,  turns  off  echoing,  reads  one  line  (the "password"), restores the terminal state and closes
       /dev/tty again.

RETURN VALUE

       The function getpass() returns a pointer to a static buffer containing (the first PASS_MAX bytes of)  the
       password  without the trailing newline, terminated by a null byte ('\0').  This buffer may be overwritten
       by a following call.  On error, the terminal state is restored, errno is set appropriately, and  NULL  is
       returned.

ERRORS

       The function may fail if

       ENXIO  The process does not have a controlling terminal.

FILES

       /dev/tty

ATTRIBUTES

       For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see attributes(7).

       ┌──────────┬───────────────┬────────────────┐
       │Interface │ Attribute     │ Value          │
       ├──────────┼───────────────┼────────────────┤
       │getpass() │ Thread safety │ MT-Unsafe term │
       └──────────┴───────────────┴────────────────┘

CONFORMING TO

       Present in SUSv2, but marked LEGACY.  Removed in POSIX.1-2001.

NOTES

       In  the  GNU  C library implementation, if /dev/tty cannot be opened, the prompt is written to stderr and
       the password is read from stdin.  There is no limit on the length of the password.  Line editing  is  not
       disabled.

       According to SUSv2, the value of PASS_MAX must be defined in <limits.h> in case it is smaller than 8, and
       can in any case be obtained  using  sysconf(_SC_PASS_MAX).   However,  POSIX.2  withdraws  the  constants
       PASS_MAX  and  _SC_PASS_MAX,  and  the  function  getpass().   The glibc version accepts _SC_PASS_MAX and
       returns BUFSIZ (e.g., 8192).

BUGS

       The calling process should zero the password as soon as possible to avoid leaving the cleartext  password
       visible in the process's address space.

SEE ALSO

       crypt(3)

COLOPHON

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