write

Additional Notes

write sends a text message directly to another user's terminal. The message appears on the recipient's terminal in real time, prefixed with a header showing the sender's username and terminal. The recipient can reply with their own write command, creating a two-way chat session terminated by Ctrl+D or Ctrl+C.

This command predates modern instant messaging and was commonly used on multi-user Unix systems for inter-user communication. It only works if the recipient has enabled mesg y (messages allowed). On systems with graphical desktops, users may not have a writable terminal.

Syntax

write user [terminal]

Parameters

• user: The username of the recipient.
• terminal: If the user is logged in on multiple terminals, specify which one.

Examples

write alice
Hello Alice, the build is done.
^D

Send a message to alice on her current terminal. End with Ctrl+D.

write bob pts/1

Send to bob specifically on terminal pts/1.

Practical Notes

• The recipient must have messages enabled (mesg y). Check with mesg.
• Use who -T to see which users have messages enabled (+) or disabled (-).
• If the recipient is not logged in or has messages disabled, write reports an error.
• For modern inter-user messaging, use wall (write all), talk, or chat applications.
• Press Ctrl+C or Ctrl+D to end the message.
• A write session is plain text only; no formatting or file transfer is supported.