wall(8) on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs
On Solnix, wall is the illumos wall at /usr/sbin/wall. It reads a message from standard input or a file and sends it to logged-in users. It adds zone options (-z, -Z) and -a, and has no -n. Linux wall takes the message as an argument, which Solnix wall does not.
The manual pages
What Solnix runs
A default Solnix system runs the illumos wall at /usr/sbin/wall. No other variants are shipped. The page is in section 8, while the Linux and BSD pages are in section 1.
Differences
| Compared with | Topic | What differs |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | message as argument | Linux wall accepts the message as an argument. The Solnix synopsis has only an optional filename, so a non-file argument is treated as a file name. Pipe the text to stdin instead. Source: Linux wall(1) SYNOPSIS [message]; Solnix wall(8) SYNOPSIS [filename] |
| Linux | -n banner option | Linux wall -n changes the banner to "Remote broadcast message" (root only if installed set-group-id). Solnix has no -n. Its banner is "Broadcast Message from ...".Source: Linux wall(1) -n; Solnix wall(8) DESCRIPTION and OPTIONS |
| Linux | message length and syslog | Linux limits the message to 20 lines and writes a syslog notice for every invocation. The Solnix page documents neither a length limit nor syslog logging. Source: Linux wall(1) DESCRIPTION; Solnix wall(8) DESCRIPTION |
| all four | -a for pseudo-terminals | Solnix wall normally skips pseudo-terminals that are not rlogin sessions, so under a window system only the console window gets the message. -a sends to them too. The other pages document no such default or flag.Source: Solnix wall(8) DESCRIPTION, -a; Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD wall(1) SYNOPSIS |
| all four | zones | Solnix wall sends to the current zone only by default. From the global zone, -Z sends to all nonglobal zones and -z zonename sends to one zone. None of the counterpart pages has zone options.Source: Solnix wall(8) DESCRIPTION, -z, -Z; counterpart wall(1) SYNOPSIS |
| FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD | -g group | Solnix -g takes one group name from the group database. FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD document that -g may be repeated, and any user in any listed group gets the message. The Solnix page does not say it can be repeated. Linux has no -g.Source: Solnix wall(8) -g; FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD wall(1) -g; Linux wall(1) SYNOPSIS |
| OpenBSD | non-printable and UTF-8 characters | Solnix wall shows control characters as ^ plus a letter and high-bit characters in meta notation. OpenBSD ignores LC_CTYPE, allows only ASCII printable characters and spaces, and replaces everything else with question marks. Source: Solnix wall(8) DESCRIPTION; OpenBSD wall(1) DESCRIPTION |
| FreeBSD | locale used for safe characters | FreeBSD uses the sender's LC_CTYPE to decide which characters are safe to write, and lists this as a bug. Solnix wall consults LANG and LC_* for locale behaviour; the page does not say how that affects the characters it prints. Source: FreeBSD wall(1) BUGS; Solnix wall(8) ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES |
| FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD | superuser override | All systems say that only the superuser can write to terminals of users who have denied messages. Solnix also says wall runs setgid to group tty to get write access to other users' terminals. Source: Solnix wall(8) DESCRIPTION; FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD wall(1) DESCRIPTION |
Standards
- POSIX: wall is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
Writing portable scripts
- Send the message on standard input (echo text | wall, or wall < file). That works on all five pages; the message-as-argument form is documented only for Linux.
- Do not use
-n,-a,-zor-Zin portable scripts: each is documented on only one system.-gis documented on Solnix and the BSDs but not on Linux.
Every difference here is taken from the manual pages linked above: Solnix's published page, Linux (man-pages and the GNU and util-linux manuals), FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Each row names its source. Where a manual is silent, this page is too. Compiled 2026-10-26. Found a mistake? Mail hackers@lists.solnix.io.