write (Unix)

write can refer to several Unix commands. All known variations of write are used to write messages to another user. The most popular variation sends a message directly to another user's TTY.

Usage

The correct syntax for the write command is:

write user [tty]
message

The write session is terminated by sending EOF, which can be done by pressing Ctrl+D. The tty argument is only necessary when a user is logged into more than one terminal.

Example

A conversation initiated between two users on the same machine:

11:19 AM# write root pts/7
test

Will show up to the user on that console as:

Message from root@punch on pts/8 at 11:19 ...
test

History

A version of the write command appeared in the First Edition of the Research Unix operating system. Another variation of write writes a message to a user on a Windows network, using the SMB packet format^{[citation needed]}.

Programmer's Workbench UNIX contained a program wall that wrote a message to all users in the same way.

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Usage

Example

History

See also