talk

Additional Notes

talk is a visual two-way text communication program that allows a user to have a split-screen conversation with another user on the same system or a remote system. Each participant's typing appears in a separate window pane, with their own input at the bottom and the other user's input at the top.

The talk protocol requires a talk daemon (talkd or in.talkd) running on the target system. It uses UDP ports 517 (talk) and 518 (ntalk). The command has been largely replaced by modern instant messaging, IRC, and collaboration tools.

Syntax

talk user [tty]
talk user@host [tty]

Parameters

• user: The username of the person to talk to.
• host: Remote hostname (for talking to users on another system).
• tty: Terminal line (optional, if the user is logged in multiple times).

Examples

talk alice

Initiate a talk session with user alice on the local system.

talk bob@remote-server

Start a talk session with user bob on remote-server.

talk alice pts/1

Talk to user alice specifically on terminal pts/1.

Practical Notes

• The talk service must be enabled on the remote host (typically via talkd in inetd/xinetd).
• The target user receives a "Talk request from ..." message on their terminal and must respond with talk username to accept.
• Use who or w to see which users are logged in and their terminal numbers.
• talk sends all text in cleartext with no encryption.
• Modern alternatives: write (simpler local messaging), wall (broadcast), irc, tmux shared sessions, or instant messaging apps.
• Most distributions no longer install talk or talkd by default.