1WPA_CLI(8)                                                          WPA_CLI(8)
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NAME

6       wpa_cli - WPA command line client
7

SYNOPSIS

9       wpa_cli [ -p path to ctrl sockets ]  [ -g path to global ctrl_interface
10       socket ]  [ -i ifname ]  [ -hvB ]  [ -a action file ]  [ -P pid file  ]
11       [ -G ping interval ]  [ command ... ]
12

OVERVIEW

14       wpa_cli  is a text-based frontend program for interacting with wpa_sup‐
15       plicant. It is used to  query  current  status,  change  configuration,
16       trigger events, and request interactive user input.
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18       wpa_cli  can  show the current authentication status, selected security
19       mode, dot11 and dot1x MIBs, etc. In addition,  it  can  configure  some
20       variables  like  EAPOL state machine parameters and trigger events like
21       reassociation and IEEE 802.1X logoff/logon. wpa_cli provides a user in‐
22       terface  to request authentication information, like username and pass‐
23       word, if these are not included in the configuration. This can be  used
24       to  implement, e.g., one-time-passwords or generic token card authenti‐
25       cation where the authentication is based on a  challenge-response  that
26       uses an external device for generating the response.
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28       The control interface of wpa_supplicant can be configured to allow non-
29       root user access (ctrl_interface GROUP= parameter in the  configuration
30       file).  This  makes  it  possible to run wpa_cli with a normal user ac‐
31       count.
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33       wpa_cli supports two modes: interactive and command  line.  Both  modes
34       share  the  same  command set and the main difference is in interactive
35       mode providing access to unsolicited messages  (event  messages,  user‐
36       name/password requests).
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38       Interactive  mode is started when wpa_cli is executed without including
39       the command as a command line parameter. Commands are then  entered  on
40       the wpa_cli prompt. In command line mode, the same commands are entered
41       as command line arguments for wpa_cli.
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INTERACTIVE AUTHENTICATION PARAMETERS REQUEST

44       When wpa_supplicant need authentication parameters, like  username  and
45       password,  which  are not present in the configuration file, it sends a
46       request message to all attached frontend programs, e.g., wpa_cli in in‐
47       teractive    mode.   wpa_cli   shows   these   requests   with   "CTRL-
48       REQ-<type>-<id>:<text>" prefix. <type> is IDENTITY,  PASSWORD,  or  OTP
49       (one-time-password).  <id>  is a unique identifier for the current net‐
50       work. <text> is description of the request. In case of OTP request,  it
51       includes the challenge from the authentication server.
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53       The  reply  to these requests can be given with identity, password, and
54       otp commands. <id> needs to be copied from the matching request.  pass‐
55       word and otp commands can be used regardless of whether the request was
56       for PASSWORD or OTP. The main difference between these two commands  is
57       that  values  given with password are remembered as long as wpa_suppli‐
58       cant is running whereas values given with otp are used  only  once  and
59       then  forgotten, i.e., wpa_supplicant will ask frontend for a new value
60       for every use.  This can be used to implement  one-time-password  lists
61       and generic token card -based authentication.
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63       Example request for password and a matching reply:
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66              CTRL-REQ-PASSWORD-1:Password needed for SSID foobar
67              > password 1 mysecretpassword
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70
71       Example request for generic token card challenge-response:
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74              CTRL-REQ-OTP-2:Challenge 1235663 needed for SSID foobar
75              > otp 2 9876
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COMMAND ARGUMENTS

80       -p path
81              Change the path where control sockets should be found.
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83       -g control socket path
84              Connect  to  the  global  control  socket  at the indicated path
85              rather than an interface-specific control socket.
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87       -i ifname
88              Specify the interface that  is  being  configured.  By  default,
89              choose  the  first  interface found with a control socket in the
90              socket path.
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92       -h     Help. Show a usage message.
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94       -v     Show version information.
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96       -B     Run as a daemon in the background.
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98       -a file
99              Run in daemon mode executing the action  file  based  on  events
100              from  wpa_supplicant.  The  specified file will be executed with
101              the first argument set to interface name  and  second  to  "CON‐
102              NECTED"  or  "DISCONNECTED" depending on the event.  This can be
103              used to execute networking tools required to configure  the  in‐
104              terface.
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106              Additionally, three environmental variables are available to the
107              file: WPA_CTRL_DIR, WPA_ID, and  WPA_ID_STR.  WPA_CTRL_DIR  con‐
108              tains  the  absolute  path  to the ctrl_interface socket. WPA_ID
109              contains the unique network_id identifier assigned to the active
110              network,  and  WPA_ID_STR contains the content of the id_str op‐
111              tion.
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113       -P file
114              Set the location of the PID file.
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116       -G ping interval
117              Set the interval (in seconds) at which wpa_cli pings the suppli‐
118              cant.
119
120       command
121              Run  a  command.  The  available commands are listed in the next
122              section.
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COMMANDS

125       The following commands are available:
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127       status get current WPA/EAPOL/EAP status
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129       mib    get MIB variables (dot1x, dot11)
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131       help   show this usage help
132
133       interface [ifname]
134              show interfaces/select interface
135
136       level <debug level>
137              change debug level
138
139       license
140              show full wpa_cli license
141
142       logoff IEEE 802.1X EAPOL state machine logoff
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144       logon  IEEE 802.1X EAPOL state machine logon
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146       set    set variables (shows list of variables when  run  without  argu‐
147              ments)
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149       pmksa  show PMKSA cache
150
151       reassociate
152              force reassociation
153
154       reconfigure
155              force wpa_supplicant to re-read its configuration file
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157       preauthenticate <BSSID>
158              force preauthentication
159
160       identity <network id> <identity>
161              configure identity for an SSID
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163       password <network id> <password>
164              configure password for an SSID
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166       pin <network id> <pin>
167              configure pin for an SSID
168
169       otp <network id> <password>
170              configure one-time-password for an SSID
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172       bssid <network id> <BSSID>
173              set preferred BSSID for an SSID
174
175       list_networks
176              list configured networks
177
178       terminate
179              terminate wpa_supplicant
180
181       quit   exit wpa_cli
182

SEE ALSO

184       wpa_supplicant(8)
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187       wpa_supplicant  is copyright (c) 2003-2019, Jouni Malinen <j@w1.fi> and
188       contributors.  All Rights Reserved.
189
190       This program is licensed under the BSD license (the one with advertise‐
191       ment clause removed).
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195                                 24 July 2021                       WPA_CLI(8)
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