NAME
systemd-ask-password - Query the user for a system password SYNOPSIS
systemd-ask-password [OPTIONS...] [MESSAGE] DESCRIPTION
systemd-ask-password may be used to query a system password or passphrase from the user, using a question message specified on the command line. When run from a TTY it will query a password on the TTY
and print it to standard output. When run with no TTY or with no-tty
it will query the password system-wide and allow active users to respond via several agents. The latter is only available to privileged processes.
The purpose of this tool is to query system-wide passwords that is passwords not attached to a specific user account. Examples include: unlocking encrypted hard disks when they are plugged in or at boot, entering an SSL certificate passphrase for web and VPN servers.
Existing agents are: a boot-time password agent asking the user for
passwords using Plymouth; a boot-time password agent querying the user directly on the console; an agent requesting password input via a wall(1) message; an agent suitable for running in a GNOME session; a command line agent which can be started temporarily to process queued password requests; a TTY agent that is temporarily spawned during systemctl(1) invocations. Additional password agents may be implemented according to the systemd Password Agent Specification[1]. If a password is queried on a TTY, the user may press TAB to hide the asterisks normally shown for each character typed. Pressing Backspace as first key achieves the same effect. OPTIONS The following options are understood: icon= Specify an icon name alongside the password query, which may be used in all agents supporting graphical display. The icon name should follow the XDG Icon Naming Specification[2]. timeout= Specify the query timeout in seconds. Defaults to 90s. A timeout of 0 waits indefinitely. echo Echo the user input instead of masking it. This is useful when
using systemd-ask-password to query for usernames.
no-tty Never ask for password on current TTY even if one is available. Always use agent system.
accept-cached If passed, accept cached passwords, i.e. passwords previously typed in. multiple
When used in conjunction with accept-cached accept multiple passwords. This will output one password per line.
-h, help Print a short help text and exit. EXIT STATUS
On success, 0 is returned, a non-zero failure code otherwise. SEE ALSO systemd(1), systemctl(1), plymouth(8), wall(1) NOTES 1. systemd Password Agent Specification http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/PasswordAgents 2. XDG Icon Naming Specification
http://standards.freedesktop.org/icon-naming-spec/icon-naming-spec-latest.html
systemd 219 SYSTEMD-ASK-PASSWORD(1)