Open

OPENVT(1)                          Linux 1.x                         OPENVT(1)

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 com‐
       mand 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 set‐
              sid(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)

19 Jul 1996                          V1.4                            OPENVT(1)