finger, f - Displays user information
finger [-bfhilmpqsw] [user...]
The finger command displays information about the users in
the passwd file.
Produces a briefer version of long format output. Suppresses
display of header line (the first line that
defines the displayed fields). Suppresses printing of
files in long and brief long formats. Produces a quick
listing with idle times. Forces long output format.
Assumes user specified is an account name, not a given
name or surname. Suppresses printing of files in long and
brief long formats. Produces a quick listing, including
only login name, terminal name, and login time. Forces
short output format. Forces narrow, short format listing.
By default, information for each user on the host is
listed. This information includes the login name, terminal
name and write status (an * (asterisk)) before the terminal
name appears (if write permission is denied), and
login time.
The finger command uses a longer output format when you
specify a user or a list of users. You can use account
name, given name, or surname (as listed in /etc/passwd) to
specify users. This multiline format includes the information
described previously, as well as full name, office
number, and phone number (if known); the user's home
directory and login shell; idle time; any plan that the
user has placed in the file in the user's home directory;
and the project on which the user is working from the file
in the home directory. (Idle time is minutes if it is a
single integer, hours and minutes if a : (colon) is present,
or days and hours if a d is present.)
If a host is not specified, the information is for users
on the local host; otherwise, the information is for users
at the specified host. You can specify a user on a remote
host by using the form user@host; if you specify @host
alone, the standard format listing is provided on the
remote system. If a long format printout is to be produced,
the -l option is passed to the remote finger daemon.
No other options are honored for remote finger
queries.
The finger command displays user information only if the
specified host has a fingerd server running or inetd is
configured to start fingerd. If fingerd is not running,
the command returns a "Connection refused" error message.
(For more information on setting up this server for your
host, see the fingerd(8) daemon reference page.)
If you want to make information available to other users
who run finger on your user ID, you can create the following
files in your home directory: A file that contains
plans. The file can contain more than one line. Set the
protection on this file to 644. A file that states what
project you are currently working on. The file can contain
only one line. Set the protection on this file to
644.
Note
Set the protection on your home directory to 755 in order
for the world to access it. Keep in mind that all other
files in your home directory will also be accessible.
The f command is a supported alias for the finger command.
To get information about user frankel at host1, enter: $
finger frankel@host1 Login name: frankel In real
life: Sam Frankel Office: 3D08 ext5555
Home phone: 555-9982 Directory: /u/frankel
Shell: /usr/bin/sh Last login Thu Jun 28 10:37 on tty56
from venus.abc.org No plan. To get information about user
chen at host1, when chen has both a and a file in his home
directory, enter: $ finger chen@host1 Login name: chen
In real life: A. B. Chen Office: 3D10 ext5322
Home phone: 210-9876 Directory: /u/chen
Shell: /usr/bin/sh On since May 16 11:06 on tty3 1
minute 2 seconds Idle Time Project: aquatic entomology
Plan: Complete Phase 1 research by end of second quarter.
Produce draft report by end of year. To get information
about all users logged in to the host host1, enter: $ finger
@host1
Contains user and accounting information. Contains user
information. Contains last login times. Contains a
user's plan. (Optional file) Contains one-line description
of a user's project assignment. (Optional file)
Commands: fingerd(8), hostname(1), inetd(8), rwho(1),
users(1)
finger(1)
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