Manual: 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_supplicant. 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 interface to request authentication information, like username and passā
word, if these are not included in the configuration. This can be used to implement, e.g., one-time-passwords or
generic token card authentication where the authentication is based on a challenge-response that uses an external deā
vice for generating the response.
The control interface of wpa_supplicant can be configured to allow non-root user access (ctrl_interface GROUP= paraā
meter in the configuration file). This makes it possible to run wpa_cli with a normal user account.
wpa_cli supports two modes: interactive and command line. Both modes share the same command set and the main differā
ence is in interactive mode providing access to unsolicited messages (event messages, username/password requests).
Interactive mode is started when wpa_cli is executed without including the command as a command line parameter. Comā
mands are then entered on the wpa_cli prompt. In command line mode, the same commands are entered as command line arā
guments for wpa_cli.
INTERACTIVE AUTHENTICATION PARAMETERS REQUEST
When wpa_supplicant need authentication parameters, like username and password, which are not present in the configuā
ration file, it sends a request message to all attached frontend programs, e.g., wpa_cli in interactive mode. wpa_cli
shows these requests with "CTRL-REQ--:" prefix. is IDENTITY, PASSWORD, or OTP (one-time-passā
word). is a unique identifier for the current network. is description of the request. In case of OTP reā
quest, it includes the challenge from the authentication server.
The reply to these requests can be given with identity, password, and otp commands. needs to be copied from the
matching request. password 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_supā
plicant 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 "CONNECTED" or "DISCONNECTED" depending
on the event. This can be used to execute networking tools required to configure the interface.
Additionally, three environmental variables are available to the file: WPA_CTRL_DIR, WPA_ID, and WPA_ID_STR.
WPA_CTRL_DIR contains 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 option.
-P file
Set the location of the PID file.
-G ping interval
Set the interval (in seconds) at which wpa_cli pings the supplicant.
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
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 arguments)
pmksa show PMKSA cache
reassociate
force reassociation
reconfigure
force wpa_supplicant to re-read its configuration file
preauthenticate
force preauthentication
identity
configure identity for an SSID
password
configure password for an SSID
pin
configure pin for an SSID
otp
configure one-time-password for an SSID
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) 2003-2022, Jouni Malinen and contributors. All Rights Reserved.
This program is licensed under the BSD license (the one with advertisement clause removed).
07 August 2019 WPA_CLI(8)