lock Command

Purpose

Reserves a terminal.

Syntax

lock [ -Timeout ]

Description

The lock command requests a password from the user, reads it, and requests the password a second time to verify it. In the interim, the command locks the terminal and does not relinquish it until the password is received the second time or one of the following occurs:

The timeout default value is 15 minutes, but this can be changed with the -Timeout flag.

Flags

Item Description
-Timeout Indicates the timeout interval in minutes, as specified by the Timeout parameter. The default value is 15 minutes.

Examples

  1. To reserve a terminal under password control, enter:
    lock
    You are prompted for the password twice so the system can verify it. If the password is not repeated within 15 minutes, the command times out.
  2. To reserve a terminal under password control, with a timeout interval of 10 minutes, enter:
    lock -10

Files

Item Description
/usr/bin/lock Contains the lock command.