minicom

Hurricane Electric Internet Services: Accounts starting at $9.95/month
Hurricane Electric Internet Services

NAME

       minicom - friendly serial communication program


SYNOPSIS

       minicom [-somlz] [-c on|off] [-d entry] [-a on|off]
               [-t term] [configuration]


DESCRIPTION

       minicom  is  a communication program which somewhat resem-
       bles the shareware program TELIX but is free  with  source
       code and runs under most unices.  Features include dialing
       directory with auto-redial, support  for  UUCP-style  lock
       files on serial devices, a seperate script language inter-
       preter, capture to file, multiple  users  with  individual
       configurations, and more.


COMMAND-LINE

       -s   Setup.   This  is  allowed  for  root only. When this
            option is used, minicom does not initialize, but puts
            you  directly  into  the  configuration menu. This is
            very handy if minicom refuses  to  start  up  because
            your  system  has  changed, or for the first time you
            run minicom. For most  systems,  reasonable  defaults
            are already compiled in.

       -o   Do  not initialize. Minicom will skip the initializa-
            tion code.  This option is handy if you quitted  from
            minicom without resetting, and then want to restart a
            session. It is potentially dangerous though: no check
            for  lock  files etc. is made, so a normal user could
            interfere with things like uucp... Maybe this will be
            taken  out  later.  For now it is assumed, that users
            who are given  access  to  a  modem  are  responsible
            enough for their actions.

       -m   Override  command-key  with the Meta or ALT key. This
            can also be configured in one of minicom's menus, but
            if you use different terminals all the time, of which
            some don't have a Meta or ALT key, it's handy to  set
            the default command key to Ctrl-A and use this option
            when you have a keyboard supporting Meta or ALT keys.
            Minicom assumes that your Meta key sends the ESC pre-
            fix, not the other variant that sets the highest  bit
            of the character.

       -M   Same  as  -m, but assumes that your Meta key sets the
            8th bit of the character high (sends 128 +  character
            code).

       -z   Use  terminal  status line. This only works on termi-
            nals that support  it  and  that  have  the  relevant
            information in /etc/termcap.

       -l   Literal  translation  of characters with the high bit
            set. With this flag  on,  minicom  will  not  try  to
            translate  the  IBM  line  characters  to  ASCII, but
            passes them straight trough. Many PC-unix clones will
            display  them correctly without translation (Linux in
            a special mode, Coherent and Sco).

       -a   Attribute usage. Some terminals, notably televideo's,
            have  a  rotten attribute handling (serial instead of
            parallel). By default, minicom uses '-a on',  but  if
            you are using such a terminal you can (must!)  supply
            the option '-a off'. The trailing 'on'  or  'off'  is
            needed.

       -t   Terminal  type.  With this flag, you can override the
            environment TERM variable.  This is handy for use  in
            the  MINICOM  environment  variable; one can create a
            special termcap entry for use  with  minicom  on  the
            console,  that  initializes the screen to raw mode so
            that in conjunction with the -l flag,  the  IBM  line
            characters are displayed untranslated.

       -c   Color  usage.  Some terminals (such as the Linux con-
            sole) support color with  the  standard  ANSI  escape
            sequences.  Because  there  is  apparently no termcap
            support for color, these escape sequences  are  hard-
            coded  into  minicom. Therefore this option is off by
            default.  You can turn it on with '-c on'. This,  and
            the  '-m' option, are good candidates to put into the
            MINICOM environment variable.

       -d   Dial an entry from the dialing directory on  startup.
            You can specify an index number, but also a substring
            of the name of the entry.

            When minicom starts, it first  searches  the  MINICOM
            environment   variable  for  command-line  arguments,
            which can be over-ridden on the command line.   Thus,
            if you have done

                 MINICOM='-m -c on'
                 export MINICOM

            or  the  equivalent,  and start minicom, minicom will
            assume that your terminal has a Meta or <ALT> key and
            that  color  is supported.  If you then log in from a
            terminal without color  support,  and  you  have  set
            MINICOM  in  your  startup  (.profile  or equivalent)
            file, and don't want to re-set your environment vari-
            able,  you  can type 'minicom -c off' and run without
            color support for that session.

       configuration
            The configuration argument is more interesting.  Nor-
            mally,  minicom  gets its defaults from a file called
            "minirc.dfl". If you  however  give  an  argument  to
            minicom,  it will try to get its defaults from a file
            called "minirc.configuration".  So it is possible  to
            create  multiple  configuration  files, for different
            ports, different users etc. Most sensible is  to  use
            device  names,  such  as  tty1, tty64, sio2 etc. If a
            user creates his own configuration file, it will show
            up in his home directory as '.minirc.dfl'.


USE

       Minicom is windows-based. To popup a window with the func-
       tion you want, press Control-A (from now on, we  will  use
       C-A  to mean Control-A), and then the function key (a-z or
       A-Z). By pressing C-A first and then 'z',  a  help  screen
       comes up with a short summary of all commands. This escape
       key can be altered when minicom is configured  (-s  option
       or C-A O), but we'll stick to Control-A for now.

       For every menu the next keys can be used:
        UP     arrow-up or 'k'
        DOWN   arrow-down or 'j'
        LEFT   arrow-left or 'h'
        RIGHT  arrow-right or 'l'
        CHOOSE Enter
        CANCEL ESCape.

       The  screen  is  divided  into  two portions: the upper 24
       lines are the terminal-emulator screen.  In  this  window,
       ANSI  or VT100 escape sequences are interpreted.  If there
       is a line left at the bottom,  a  status  line  is  placed
       there.   If  this  is not possible the status line will be
       showed every time you press C-A. On terminals that have  a
       special  status  line  that  will  be  used if the termcap
       information is complete and the -k flag has been given.

       Possible commands are listed next, in alphabetical  order.
       C-A  Pressing  C-A  a  second time will just send a C-A to
            the remote system.  If you have changed your  "escape
            character"  to  something  other than C-A, this works
            analogously for that character.
       A    Toggle 'Add Linefeed' on/off. If it is on, a linefeed
            is  added  before  every carriage return displayed on
            the screen.
       B    Gives you a scroll back buffer.  You  can  scroll  up
            with  u,  down  with d, a page up with b, a page down
            with f, and if you  have  them  the  arrow  and  page
            up/page down keys can also be used.
       C    Clears the screen.
       D    Dial a number, or go to the dialing directory.
       E    Toggle  local  echo  on  and  off (if your version of
            minicom supports it).
       F    A break signal is sent to the modem.
       G    Run script (Go). Runs a login script.
       H    Hangup.
       I    Toggle the type of escape sequence  that  the  cursor
            keys  send between normal and applications mode. (See
            also the comment about the status line below).
       J    Jump to a shell. On return, the whole screen will  be
            redrawn.
       K    Clears the screen, runs kermit and redraws the screen
            upon return.
       L    Turn Capture file on off. If turned  on,  all  output
            sent  to the screen will be captured in the file too.
       M    Sends the modem initialization string.
       O    Configure minicom.  Puts  you  in  the  configuration
            menu.
       P    Communication  Parameters.  Allows  you to change the
            baudrate, parity and number of bits.
       Q    Exit minicom without resetting the modem.  If  macros
            changed and were not saved, you will have a chance to
            do so.
       R    Recieve files. Choose from various protocols  (exter-
            nal).
       S    Send files. Ditto.
       T    Choose Terminal emulation: Ansi(color) or vt100.  You
            can also change the backspace key here and  turn  the
            status line on or off.
       W    Toggle linewrap on/off.
       X    Exit minicom, reset modem. If macros changed and were
            not saved, you will have a chance to do so.
       Z    Pop up the help screen.


DIALING DIRECTORY

       By pressing C-A D the program  puts  you  in  the  dialing
       directory.   You  can  add,  delete  or  edit entries.  By
       choosing "dial" the phone number of the highlighted  entry
       will  be dialed. While the modem is dialing, you can press
       escape to cancel dialing. Any other  key  will  close  the
       dial  window,  but  won't  cancel the dialing itself. Your
       dialing directory will be saved into a the file ".dialdir"
       in  your  home directory.  You can scroll up and down with
       the arrow keys, but you can also scroll complete pages  by
       pressing  the  PageUp  or PageDown key.  If you don't have
       those, use Control-B (Backward) and  Control-F  (Forward).
       You  can  use the space bar to tag a number of entries and
       minicom will rotate trough this list if a connection can't
       be made.

       The  "edit"  menu speaks for itself, but I will discuss it
       briefly here.
       A - Name  The name for this entry
       B - Number
                 and its telephone number.
       C - Dial string #
                 Which specific dial string you want  to  use  to
                 connect.  There are three different dial strings
                 (prefixes and suffixes) that can  be  configured
                 in the Modem and dialing menu.

       D - Local echo
                 can  be  on or off for this system (if your ver-
                 sion of minicom supports it).
       E - Script
                 The script that must be executed after a succes-
                 full connection is made (see the manual for run-
                 script)
       F - Username
                 The username that is  passed  to  the  runscript
                 program.  It is passed in the environment string
                 "$LOGIN".
       G - Password
                 The password is passed as "$PASS".
       H - Terminal Emulation
                 Use ANSI or VT100 emulation.
       I - Backspace key sends
                 What code (Backspace or  Delete)  the  backspace
                 key sends.
       J - Line settings
                 Baudrate,  bits  and parity to use for this con-
                 nection. You can choose current for  the  speed,
                 so that it will use whatever speed is being used
                 at that moment  (useful  if  you  have  multiple
                 modems).



CONFIGURATION

       By  pressing C-A O you will be thrown into the setup menu.
       Most settings there can be changed by everyone,  but  some
       are restricted to root only. Those priviliged settings are
       marked with a star (*) here.

       Filenames and paths
          This menu defines your default directories.
          A - upload
               where the uploaded files go to.
          B - download
               Yup, you guessed it.
          C - script
               Where you keep your login scripts.
          D - Script program
               Which program to use as  the  script  interpreter.
               Defaults  to  the  program "runscript", but if you
               want  to  use  something  else  (eg,  /bin/sh   or
               "expect")  it  is  possible.  Stdin and stdout are
               connected to the modem, stderr to the screen.
               If the path is relative (ie, does not start with a
               slash)  then it's relative to your home directory,
               except for the script interpreter.
          E - Kermit program
               Where to find the executable for kermit, and  it's
               options.  Some  simple  macro's can be used on the
               command line: '%l' is  expanded  to  the  complete
               filename  of  the  dial  out-device,  and  '%b' is
               expanded to the current baudrate.

       File Transfer Protocols
          Protocols defined here will show up  when  C-A  s/r  is
          pressed.   "Name"  is the name that will show up in the
          menu. "Program" is the path to the protocol. "NeedName"
          defines if the program needs an argument, eg. a file to
          be transmitted. Up/Down defines if  this  entry  should
          show  up  in  the upload or the download menu.  Fullscr
          defines if the program should run full screen, or  that
          minicom  will  only  show  it's  stderr  in  a  window.
          Finally, IO-Red defines if minicom  should  attach  the
          program's  standard  in and output to the modem port or
          not. The old sz and rz are not full  screen,  and  have
          IO-Red set. However, there are curses based versions of
          at least rz that do not want  their  stdin  and  stdout
          redirected,  and  run  full  screen.  All file transfer
          protocols are run with the UID of  the  user,  and  not
          with UID=root. '%l' and '%b' can be used on the command
          line as with kermit.

       Serial port setup
          *A - Serial device
               /dev/tty1  for  most   people.    /dev/cua<n>   or
               /dev/modem under linux.
          *B - Lock file location
               This  should be /usr/spool/uucp. If this directory
               does not exist, minicom will not  attempt  to  use
               lockfiles.
          *C - Callin program
               If  you have a uugetty or something on your serial
               port, it could be that you want a  program  to  be
               run   to   switch   the   modem   cq.   port  into
               dialin/dialout mode. This is the  program  to  get
               into dialin mode.
          *D - Callout program
               And this to get into dialout mode.
          E - Baud/Par/Bits
               Default parameters at startup.

          If  one  of  the  entries is left blank, it will not be
          used. So if you don't care  about  locking,  and  don't
          have  a  getty running on your modemline, entries B - D
          should be left blank.  Be warned! The callin and  call-
          out  programs  are  run  with  the effective user id of
          "root", eg 0!

       Modem and Dialing
          Here, the parameters for your modem are defined. I will
          not  explain  this further because the defaults are for
          generic Hayes modems, and should work always. This file
          is not a Hayes tutorial :-) The only thing worth notic-
          ing is that control characters can be sent by prefixing
          them  with a '^', in which '^^' means '^' itself.  Some
          options however, don't have much to do with  the  modem
          but more with the behaviour of minicom itself:
          M - Dial time
               The  number of seconds before minicom times out if
               no connection is established.
          N - Delay before redial
               Minicom will redial if no connection was made, but
               it first waits some time.
          O - Number of tries
               Maximum  number  of times that minicom attempts to
               dial.
          P - Autobaud detect
               If this is on, minicom tries to match  the  dialed
               party's speed.
          Q - Drop DTR to hangup
               Normally  minicom hangs up by sending a Hayes-type
               hangup sequence but if your system supports it, it
               can also hangup by dropping the DTR line.
          R - Modem has DCD line
               If  your  modem, and your O/S both support the DCD
               line (that goes 'high' when a connection is  made)
               minicom will use it.

            Note  that a special exception is made for this menu:
            every user can change all parameters here,  but  they
            will not be saved.

       Screen and keyboard
          A - Command key is
               the  'Hot  Key' that brings you into command mode.
               If this is set to 'ALT' or  'meta  key',  you  can
               directly  call  commands  by  alt-key  instead  of
               HotKey-key.
          B - Backspace key sends
               There still are some systems that want a VT100  to
               send  DEL  instead of BS. With this option you can
               enable that  stupidity.   (Eh,  it's  even  on  by
               default...)
          C - Status line is
               Enabled  or  disabled.  Some  slow  terminals (for
               example, X-terminals) cause  the  status  line  to
               jump "up and down" when scrolling, so you can turn
               it off if desired. It will still be shown in  com-
               mand-mode.
          D - Alarm sound
               If  turned on, minicom will sound an alarm (on the
               console only) after a  succesfull  connection  and
               when up/downloading is complete.
          E - Foreground Color (menu)
               indicates  the foreground color to use for all the
               configuration windows in minicom.
          F - Background Color (menu)
               indicates the background color to use for all  the
               configuration   windows   in  minicom.  Note  that
               minicom will not allow you to  set  forground  and
               background colors to the same value.
          G - Foreground Color (term)
               indicates  the foreground color to use in the ter-
               minal window.
          H - Background Color (term)
               indicates the background color to use in the  ter-
               minal window. Note that minicom will not allow you
               to set forground and background colors to the same
               value.
          I - Foreground Color (stat)
               indicates  the  foreground color to use in for the
               status bar.
          J - Background Color (stat)
               indicates the color to use in for the status  bar.
               Note that minicom will allow you to set the status
               bar's forground and background colors to the  same
               value.  This  will effectively make the status bar
               invisible but if these are your intensions, please
               see the option
          K - History buffer size
               The  number of lines to keep in the history buffer
               (for backscrolling).
          L - Macros file
               is the full path to the file  that  holds  macros.
               Macros  allow  you  to  define a string to be sent
               when you press a certain key. In minicom, you  may
               define F1 through F10 to send up to 256 characters
               [this is set at compile time].  The  filename  you
               specify  is  verified as soon as you hit ENTER. If
               you do not have permissions to create  the  speci-
               fied  file,  an error message will so indicate and
               you will be forced to re-edit the filename. If you
               are  permitted  to create the file, minicom checks
               to see if it already exists.  If  so,  it  assumes
               it's  a  macro  file and reads it in. If it isn't,
               well, it's your problem :-) If the file  does  not
               exist, the filename is accepted.
          M - Edit Macros
               opens up a new window which allows you to edit the
               F1 through F10 macros.
          N - Macros enabled
               - Yes or No. If macros are  disabled,  the  F1-F10
               keys  will  just send the VT100/VT220 function key
               escape sequences.

        Edit Macros
          Here, the macros for F1 through F10  are  defined.  The
          bottom of the window shows a legend of character combi-
          nations that have special meaning.  They allow  you  to
          enter  special  control  characters  with plain text by
          prefixing them with a '^',  in  which  '^^'  means  '^'
          itself.  You  can  send  a 1 second delay with the '^~'
          code. This is useful when you are trying to login after
          ftp'ing or telnet'ing somewhere. To edit a macro, press
          the number (or letter for F10) and you will be moved to
          the  end  of  the macro. When editing the line, you may
          use the left & right arrows, Home & End keys, Delete  &
          BackSpace, and ESC and RETURN.  ESC cancels any changes
          made while ENTER accepts the changes.

        Save setup as dfl
          Save the parameters as the default for  the  next  time
          the  program  is  started.  Instead  of  dfl, any other
          parameter name may appear, depending on which  one  was
          used when the program was started.

        Save setup as..
          Save  the  parameters  under  a  special name. Whenever
          Minicom is started with this name as  an  argument,  it
          will  use  these  parameters.  This option is of course
          priviliged to root.

        Exit
          Escape from this menu without saving.  This can also be
          done with ESC.

        Exit from minicom
          Only  root  will see this menu entry, if he/she started
          minicom with the '-s' option. This way, it is  possible
          to  change  the  configuration without actually running
          minicom.


STATUS LINE

       The status line has several  indicators,  that  speak  for
       themselves.   The mysterious APP or CUR indicator probably
       needs explanation. The VT100 cursor keys  can  be  in  two
       modes:  applications  mode  and  cursor mode. This is con-
       trolled by an escape sequence. If you find that the cursor
       keys  do  not work in, say, vi when you're logged in using
       minicom then you can see with this indicator  whether  the
       cursor  keys  are  in applications or cursor mode. You can
       toggle the two with the C-A I key. If the cursor keys then
       work,  it's probably an error in the remote system's term-
       cap initialization strings (is).


SECURITY ISSUES

       Since Minicom runs  setuid  root,  you  probably  want  to
       restrict access to it. This is possible by using a config-
       uration file in the same directory as the  default  files,
       called "minicom.users". The syntax of this file is as fol-
       lowing:

            <username> <configuration> [configuration...]

       To allow user 'miquels' to use the default  configuration,
       enter the following line into "minicom.users":

            miquels dfl

       If  you want users to be able to use more than the default
       configurations, just add the names of those configurations
       behind  the user name. If no configuration is given behind
       the username, minicom assumes that the user has access  to
       all configurations.


MISC

       If  minicom  is  hung,  kill it with SIGTERM . (This means
       kill -15, or since sigterm is default,  just  plain  "kill
       <minicompid>". This will cause a graceful exit of minicom,
       doing resets and everything.

       Since a lot of escape sequences begin with ESC  (Arrow  up
       is ESC [ A), Minicom does not know if the escape character
       it gets is you pressing the  escape  key,  or  part  of  a
       sequence.

       An  old  version of Minicom, V1.2, solved this in a rather
       crude way: to get the escape key,  you  had  to  press  it
       twice.

       As of release 1.3 this has bettered a little: now a 1-sec-
       ond timeout is builtin, like in vi. For systems that  have
       the  select()  system  call  the  timeout  is 0.5 seconds.
       And... surprise: a special Linux-dependant  hack  :-)  was
       added.  Now,  minicom  can  separate  the  escape  key and
       escape-sequences. To see how dirty  this  was  done,  look
       into wkeys.c.  But it works like a charm!


FILES

       Minicom  keeps  it's configuration files in one directory,
       usually /var/lib/minicom, /usr/local/etc or /etc. To  find
       out  what default directory minicom has compiled in, issue
       the command minicom -h.  You'll  probably  also  find  the
       demo files for runscript(1) there.

       minicom.users
       minirc.*
       $HOME/.minirc.*
       $HOME/.dialdir


VERSION

       Minicom is now up to version 1.71.


AUTHORS

       The   author   of   minicom   is  Miquel  van  Smoorenburg
       (miquels@drinkel.ow.org, miquels@cistron.nl)

       Most of this man page is copied,  with  corrections,  from
       the  original minicom README, but some pieces and the cor-
       rections are by Michael K. Johnson  (johnsonm@stolaf.edu).
Hurricane Electric Internet Services: Accounts starting at $9.95/month
Hurricane Electric Internet Services
Copyright (C) 1998 Hurricane Electric. All Rights Reserved.