WPA_SUPPLICANT(8) System Manager's Manual WPA_SUPPLICANT(8)

wpa_supplicant — WPA/802.11i Supplicant for wireless network devices

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 ...]

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:

ifname
Use the specified wireless interface.
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”.

The following options are available:

Detach from the controlling terminal and run as a daemon process in the background.
br_ifname
Optional bridge interface name.
ctrl
Control interface parameter.
driver
Driver name (can be either bsd or wired)
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.
entropy-file
Specifies a file to store entropy.
debug-file
Specifies a file to send debug messages to when enabled with the -d flag.
global-ctrl-group
Global control interface group.
global-ctrl
Global control interface.
Show help text.
additional-config-file
Additional configuration file.
Include key information in debugging output.
Display the license for this program on the terminal and exit.
[-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.
-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.
override-ctrl
Override ctrl_interface parameter for new interface.
override-driver
Override driver parameter for new interface.
pidfile
File in which to save the process PID.
parameters
Specify driver parameters.
Decrease debugging verbosity (i.e., counteract the use of the -d flag).
Send log messages through syslog(3) instead of to the terminal.
Include timestamp in debug messages.
Display version information on the terminal and exit.
Wait for a control interface monitor before starting.

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)

The wpa_supplicant utility first appeared in NetBSD 4.0.

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.

MOUSE June 19, 2019 WPA_SUPPLICANT(8)