WPA_SUPPLICANT(8)

NAME
wpa_supplicant - WPA/802.11i Supplicant for wireless network devices

SYNOPSIS
wpa_supplicant [-BdhKLqstvW] [-b br_ifname] [-C ctrl] -c config-file [-D driver] [-e entropy-file] [-f debug-file] [-G global-ctrl-group] [-g global-ctrl] [-I additional-config-file] [-i ifname] [-O override-ctrl] [-o override-driver] [-P pidfile] [-p parameters] [-M [-i ifname] -c config-file ...] [-N -i ifname -c config-file ...]

DESCRIPTION
The wpa_supplicant utility is an implementation of the WPA Supplicant component, i.e., the part that runs in the client stations. It implements WPA key negotiation with a WPA Authenticator and EAP authentication with an Authentication Server. In addition, wpa_supplicant controls the roaming and IEEE 802.11 authentication/association support and can be used to configure static WEP keys based on identified networks.

The wpa_supplicant utility is designed to be a “daemon” program that runs in the background and acts as the backend component controlling the wireless connection. It supports separate frontend programs such as the text-based wpa_cli(8) program.

The following arguments must be specified on the command line:

-i ifname
    Use the specified wireless interface.

-c config-file
    Use the settings in the specified configuration file when managing the wireless interface. See wpa_supplicant.conf(5) for a description of the configuration file syntax and contents.

    Changes to the configuration file can be reloaded by sending a SIGHUP signal to the wpa_supplicant process or with the wpa_cli(8) utility, using “wpa_cli reconfigure”.

OPTIONS
The following options are available:

-B  Detach from the controlling terminal and run as a daemon process in the background.

-b br_ifname
    Optional bridge interface name.

-C ctrl
    Control interface parameter.

-D driver
    Driver name (can be either bsd or wired)

-d  Enable debugging messages. If this option is supplied twice, more verbose messages are displayed. Messages are sent to stdout by default, even when daemonised. This can be changed with the -f flag.

-e entropy-file
    Specifies a file to store entropy.

-f debug-file
    Specifies a file to send debug messages to when enabled with the -d flag.

-G global-ctrl-group
    Global control interface group.

-g global-ctrl
    Global control interface.

-h  Show help text.

-I additional-config-file
    Additional configuration file.

-K  Include key information in debugging output.

-L  Display the license for this program on the terminal and exit.

-M [-i matchifname] -c config-file ...
    Matches the interface name using fnmatch(3), or all interfaces if -i is not specified. If multiple interfaces are matched then wpa_supplicant will manage them all with a single process.

-N -i ifname -c config-file ...
    Specify an additional interface and configuration file. If multiple interfaces are specified then wpa_supplicant will manage them all with a single process.

-O override-ctrl
    Override ctrl_interface parameter for new interface.

-o override-driver
    Override driver paramter for new interface.

-P pidfile
    File in which to save the process PID.

-p parameters
    Specify driver parameters.

-q  Decrease debugging verbosity (i.e., counteract the use of the -d flag).

-s  Send log messages through syslog(3) instead of to the terminal.

-t  Include timestamp in debug messages.

-v  Display version information on the terminal and exit.

-W  Wait for a control interface monitor before starting.

SEE ALSO
fnmatch(3), ath(4), ipw(4), iwi(4), iwn(4), ral(4), rum(4), wi(4), wpi(4), zyd(4), wpa_supplicant.conf(5), ifconfig(8), wpa_cli(8), wpa_passphrase(8)

HISTORY
The wpa_supplicant utility first appeared in NetBSD 4.0.

AUTHORS
The wpa_supplicant utility was written by Jouni Malinen <jkmaline@cc.hut.fi>. This manual page is derived from the README file included in the wpa_supplicant distribution.