wpa_cli

WPA_CLI(8)                                                          WPA_CLI(8)

NAME
       wpa_cli - WPA command line client

SYNOPSIS
       wpa_cli  [ -p path to ctrl sockets ] [ -g path to global ctrl_interface
       socket ] [ -i ifname ] [ -hvB ] [ -a action file ] [ -P pid file ] [ -G
       ping interval ] [ command ... ]

OVERVIEW
       wpa_cli  is a text-based frontend program for interacting with wpa_sup-
       plicant. It is used to  query  current  status,  change  configuration,
       trigger events, and request interactive user input.

       wpa_cli  can  show the current authentication status, selected security
       mode, dot11 and dot1x MIBs, etc. In addition,  it  can  configure  some
       variables  like  EAPOL state machine parameters and trigger events like
       reassociation and IEEE 802.1X logoff/logon. wpa_cli provides a user in-
       terface  to request authentication information, like username and pass-
       word, if these are not included in the configuration. This can be  used
       to  implement, e.g., one-time-passwords or generic token card authenti-
       cation where the authentication is based on a  challenge-response  that
       uses an external device for generating the response.

       The control interface of wpa_supplicant can be configured to allow non-
       root user access (ctrl_interface GROUP= parameter in the  configuration
       file).  This  makes  it  possible to run wpa_cli with a normal user ac-
       count.

       wpa_cli supports two modes: interactive and command  line.  Both  modes
       share  the  same  command set and the main difference is in interactive
       mode providing access to unsolicited messages  (event  messages,  user-
       name/password requests).

       Interactive  mode is started when wpa_cli is executed without including
       the command as a command line parameter. Commands are then  entered  on
       the wpa_cli prompt. In command line mode, the same commands are entered
       as command line arguments for wpa_cli.

INTERACTIVE AUTHENTICATION PARAMETERS REQUEST
       When wpa_supplicant need authentication parameters, like  username  and
       password,  which  are not present in the configuration file, it sends a
       request message to all attached frontend programs, e.g., wpa_cli in in-
       teractive    mode.   wpa_cli   shows   these   requests   with   "CTRL-
       REQ-<type>-<id>:<text>" prefix. <type> is IDENTITY,  PASSWORD,  or  OTP
       (one-time-password).  <id>  is a unique identifier for the current net-
       work. <text> is description of the request. In case of OTP request,  it
       includes the challenge from the authentication server.

       The  reply  to these requests can be given with identity, password, and
       otp commands. <id> needs to be copied from the matching request.  pass-
       word and otp commands can be used regardless of whether the request was
       for PASSWORD or OTP. The main difference between these two commands  is
       that  values  given with password are remembered as long as wpa_suppli-
       cant is running whereas values given with otp are used  only  once  and
       then  forgotten, i.e., wpa_supplicant will ask frontend for a new value
       for every use.  This can be used to implement  one-time-password  lists
       and generic token card -based authentication.

       Example request for password and a matching reply:

              CTRL-REQ-PASSWORD-1:Password needed for SSID foobar
              > password 1 mysecretpassword

       Example request for generic token card challenge-response:

              CTRL-REQ-OTP-2:Challenge 1235663 needed for SSID foobar
              > otp 2 9876

COMMAND ARGUMENTS
       -p path
              Change the path where control sockets should be found.

       -g control socket path
              Connect  to  the  global  control  socket  at the indicated path
              rather than an interface-specific control socket.

       -i ifname
              Specify the interface that is  being  configured.   By  default,
              choose  the  first  interface found with a control socket in the
              socket path.

       -h     Help.  Show a usage message.

       -v     Show version information.

       -B     Run as a daemon in the background.

       -a file
              Run in daemon mode executing the action  file  based  on  events
              from  wpa_supplicant.   The specified file will be executed with
              the first argument set to interface name  and  second  to  "CON-
              NECTED"  or  "DISCONNECTED" depending on the event.  This can be
              used to execute networking tools required to configure  the  in-
              terface.

              Additionally, three environmental variables are available to the
              file: WPA_CTRL_DIR, WPA_ID, and  WPA_ID_STR.  WPA_CTRL_DIR  con-
              tains  the  absolute  path  to the ctrl_interface socket. WPA_ID
              contains the unique network_id identifier assigned to the active
              network,  and  WPA_ID_STR contains the content of the id_str op-
              tion.

       -P file
              Set the location of the PID file.

       -G ping interval
              Set the interval (in seconds) at which wpa_cli pings the suppli-
              cant.

       command
              Run  a  command.   The available commands are listed in the next
              section.

COMMANDS
       The following commands are available:

       status get current WPA/EAPOL/EAP status

       mib    get MIB variables (dot1x, dot11)

       help   show this usage help

       interface [ifname]
              show interfaces/select interface

       level <debug level>
              change debug level

       license
              show full wpa_cli license

       logoff IEEE 802.1X EAPOL state machine logoff

       logon  IEEE 802.1X EAPOL state machine logon

       set    set variables (shows list of variables when  run  without  argu-
              ments)

       pmksa  show PMKSA cache

       reassociate
              force reassociation

       reconfigure
              force wpa_supplicant to re-read its configuration file

       preauthenticate <BSSID>
              force preauthentication

       identity <network id> <identity>
              configure identity for an SSID

       password <network id> <password>
              configure password for an SSID

       pin <network id> <pin>
              configure pin for an SSID

       otp <network id> <password>
              configure one-time-password for an SSID

       bssid <network id> <BSSID>
              set preferred BSSID for an SSID

       list_networks
              list configured networks

       terminate
              terminate wpa_supplicant

       quit   exit wpa_cli

SEE ALSO
       wpa_supplicant(8)

LEGAL
       wpa_supplicant  is copyright (c) 2003-2019, Jouni Malinen <j@w1.fi> and
       contributors.  All Rights Reserved.

       This program is licensed under the BSD license (the one with advertise-
       ment clause removed).

                                 01 March 2021                      WPA_CLI(8)