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)

kbd                                                19 Jul 1996                                         OPENVT(1)