--- /dev/null
+<?xml version='1.0'?> <!--*-nxml-*-->
+<!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.2//EN"
+ "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd">
+
+<!--
+ This file is part of systemd.
+
+ Copyright 2011 Lennart Poettering
+
+ systemd is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+ under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+ (at your option) any later version.
+
+ systemd is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+ WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
+ General Public License for more details.
+
+ You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ along with systemd; If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+-->
+
+<refentry id="systemd-ask-password">
+
+ <refentryinfo>
+ <title>systemd-ask-password</title>
+ <productname>systemd</productname>
+
+ <authorgroup>
+ <author>
+ <contrib>Developer</contrib>
+ <firstname>Lennart</firstname>
+ <surname>Poettering</surname>
+ <email>lennart@poettering.net</email>
+ </author>
+ </authorgroup>
+ </refentryinfo>
+
+ <refmeta>
+ <refentrytitle>systemd-ask-password</refentrytitle>
+ <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
+ </refmeta>
+
+ <refnamediv>
+ <refname>systemd-ask-password</refname>
+ <refpurpose>Query the user for a system password</refpurpose>
+ </refnamediv>
+
+ <refsynopsisdiv>
+ <cmdsynopsis>
+ <command>systemd-ask-password <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">OPTIONS</arg> <arg choice="opt">MESSAGE</arg></command>
+ </cmdsynopsis>
+ </refsynopsisdiv>
+
+ <refsect1>
+ <title>Description</title>
+
+ <para><command>systemd-ask-password</command> 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 STDOUT. When run
+ with no TTY or with <option>--no-tty</option> it will
+ query the password system-wide and allow active users
+ to respond via several agents. The latter is
+ only available to privileged processes.</para>
+
+ <para>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.</para>
+
+ <para>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
+ <citerefentry><refentrytitle>wall</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
+ 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
+ <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemctl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
+ invocations.</para>
+
+ <para>Additional password agents may be implemented
+ according to the <ulink
+ url="http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/PasswordAgents">systemd
+ Password Agent Specification</ulink>.</para>
+
+ <para>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.</para>
+
+ </refsect1>
+
+ <refsect1>
+ <title>Options</title>
+
+ <para>The following options are understood:</para>
+
+ <variablelist>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><option>--h</option></term>
+ <term><option>--help</option></term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Prints a short help
+ text and exits.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><option>--icon=</option></term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Specify an icon name
+ alongside the pasword query, which may
+ be used in all agents supporting
+ graphical display. The icon name
+ should follow the <ulink
+ url="http://standards.freedesktop.org/icon-naming-spec/icon-naming-spec-latest.html">XDG
+ Icon Naming
+ Specification</ulink>.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><option>--timeout=</option></term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Specify the query
+ timeout in seconds.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><option>--no-tty</option></term>
+
+ <listitem><para>Never ask for password
+ on current TTY even if one is
+ available. Always use agent
+ system.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><option>--accept-cached</option></term>
+
+ <listitem><para>If passed accept
+ cached passwords, i.e. passwords
+ previously typed in.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><option>--multiple</option></term>
+
+ <listitem><para>When used in
+ conjunction with
+ <option>--accept-cached</option>
+ accept multiple passwords. This will
+ output one password per
+ line.</para></listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ </variablelist>
+
+ </refsect1>
+
+ <refsect1>
+ <title>Exit status</title>
+
+ <para>On success 0 is returned, a non-zero failure
+ code otherwise.</para>
+ </refsect1>
+
+ <refsect1>
+ <title>See Also</title>
+ <para>
+ <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
+ <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemctl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
+ <citerefentry><refentrytitle>plymouth</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
+ <citerefentry><refentrytitle>wall</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
+ </para>
+ </refsect1>
+
+</refentry>
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