wpa-cute-freebsd/doc/wpa-cute.sgml
2024-03-15 08:17:42 +01:00

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<!doctype refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook V4.1//EN">
<refentry>
<refmeta>
<refentrytitle>wpa-cute</refentrytitle>
<manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
</refmeta>
<refnamediv>
<refname>wpaCute</refname>
<refpurpose>A graphical wpa_supplicant front end</refpurpose>
</refnamediv>
<refsynopsisdiv>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>wpa-cute</command>
<arg>-i <replaceable>ifname</replaceable></arg>
<arg>-m <replaceable>seconds</replaceable></arg>
<arg>-N</arg>
<arg>-p <replaceable>path-to-ctrl-sockets</replaceable></arg>
<arg>-q</arg>
<arg>-t</arg>
<arg>-W</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
</refsynopsisdiv>
<refsect1>
<title>Overview</title>
<para>wpaCute is a graphical Qt front end program for interacting
with wpa_supplicant. It's used to query current status, change
configuration and request interactive user input.</para>
<para>It supports (almost) all of the interactive status and
configuration features of the command line client, wpa_cli. Refer
to the wpa_cli man page for a comprehensive list of the interactive
mode features.</para>
<para>wpaCute is a fork from wpa_gui, shipped with wpa_supplicant
version 2.6</para>
</refsect1>
<refsect1>
<title>Command Arguments</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>-i ifname</term>
<listitem><para>Specify the interface that is be configured.
Without <option>-i</option> choose the first interface found in the socket path
which start not with 'p2p-dev-' otherwise the last found interface is chosen.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>-m seconds</term>
<listitem><para>Set an independent update interval in seconds for the signal
strength meter.</para>
<para>This value must be a positive integer. Without <option>-m</option> the
signal meter is only updated at each status update.
See also the notes about polling and pinging.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>-N</term>
<listitem><para>Force not to use QSocketNotifier, use only polling.
It's more for testing purposes.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>-p path</term>
<listitem><para>Change the path where control sockets should
be found.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>-q</term>
<listitem><para>Run program in the quiet mode - do not display tray
icon pop-up messages.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>-t</term>
<listitem><para>Start program in the system tray only (if the window
manager supports it). By default the main status window is
shown.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>-W</term>
<listitem><para>Unset setting - Disable network after "WRONG_KEY"</para>
<para>This a workaround to a wpa_supplicant quirk where he endless tries to
connect to a wrong configured network. There are cases where it is a good idea,
but I believe it is mostly annoying due to it's implementation. If I'm wrong,
use <option>-W</option> to have the original behavior. By default will now a
network disabled after a "WRONG_KEY" message.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect1>
<refsect1><title>Things Of Interest</title>
<refsect2><title>Polling And Pinging</title>
<para>On systems where QSocketNotifier is not supported is wpa_supplicant only
polled to fetch status changes.
</para>
<para>One ambitious development goal was to drop the need for Polling & Pinging
on systems where QSocketNotifier is supported. But it turned out that this
was a road to ruin due to the lack of some 'Status Has Changed Message' from
wpa_supplicant. And finally would than still the problem be left that
wpa_supplicant could silently die without some sigh. So, we are doomed to poll!
</para>
<para>The polling is now not done in a fixed interval but depends on
current status and reach from high frequent polling in 1sec, when
probably changes are on the way, down to 20sec in some static status where
primarily is checked if someone is still alive.
</para>
<para>With the main window visible is polled in 5sec.
Only in case of an fatal error is polling halted, which e.g. occurs when the user
not belongs to the configured 'ctrl_interface_group=foo'.
</para>
</refsect2>
<refsect2><title>Edit Network</title>
<para>The window morphs its look to show always only what is needed, or can be
used, to some selections you made. If you encounter some misbehavior please
report.
</para>
<para>Entered secrets will not shown again when you edit a network. Only a
hint that there is a password or key saved. This can be annoying if you try to
establish a new connection and it does not work immediately. Unfortunately, it
is then not possible to check the password. However, this is not something that
wpaCute can change, wpa_supplicant does not reveal the password but only that
one exists.
</para>
<para>When you add, delete or modify a network are these changes only made in
a temporary manner inside the running wpa_supplicant. They take effect as long
as the wpa_supplicant is not terminated or triggered to reload its
configuration. You have to save the changes explicit. This is different from
the original wpa_gui.
</para>
<para>After each change, the old network block is always removed and a new one
created. This prevents unwanted old configuration remnants from remaining.
</para>
<para>The data in the IDString field will be shown
in the Flags column of the Networks list. This is a kind of ploy to make it
easier to distinguish between identically or very similar named but different networks.
</para>
<para>If the edit window does not offer some required settings option you need,
you can also edit the configuration file by hand or using wpa_cli. You can
then use wpaCute to select the network on or off as usual. Do not hesitate to
fill out a bug report on the project page or directly by mail to the author.
</para>
</refsect2>
<refsect2><title>Peers</title>
<para>While transforming some code from old-school C/C++ to a more Qt like
style, I noticed some wpa control request that are not, or in a different way,
supported by wpa_cli. So you may encounter some disappointments. I haven't
played much with the peers window.
</para>
</refsect2>
</refsect1>
<refsect1><title>See Also</title>
<para>
<citerefentry>
<refentrytitle>wpa_cli</refentrytitle>
<manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
</citerefentry>
<citerefentry>
<refentrytitle>wpa_supplicant</refentrytitle>
<manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
</citerefentry>
</para>
</refsect1>
<refsect1><title>Legal</title>
<para>This program is licensed under the BSD license (the one with
advertisement clause removed).</para>
<literallayout>
wpaCute - A graphical wpa_supplicant front end
Copyright (C) 2018, 2022, 2024 loh.tar@googlemail.com
wpa_gui for wpa_supplicant
Copyright (C) 2003-2015 Jouni Malinen <email>j@w1.fi</email> and contributors.
</literallayout>
</refsect1>
</refentry>