CTLINND(8)

NAME
ctlinnd - control the InterNetNews daemon

SYNOPSIS
ctlinnd [ -h ] [ -s ] [ -t timeout ] command [ argument... ]

DESCRIPTION
Ctlinnd sends a message to the control channel of innd(8), the InterNetNews server.

In the normal mode of behavior, the message is sent to the server, which then performs the requested action and sends back a reply with a text message and the exit code for ctlinnd. If the server successfully performed the command, ctlinnd will exit with a status of zero and print the reply on standard output. If the server could not perform the command (for example, it was told to remove a newsgroup that does not exist), it will direct ctlinnd to exit with a status of one. The ``shutdown,'' ``xabort,'' and ``xexec'' commands do not generate a reply; ctlinnd will always exit silently with a status of zero. If the ``-s'' flag is used, then no message will be printed if the command was successful.

The ``-t'' flag can be used to specify how long to wait for the reply from the server. The timeout value specifies the number of seconds to wait. A value of zero waits forever, and a value less than zero indicates that no reply is needed. When waiting for a reply, ctlinnd will try every two minutes to see if the server is still running, so it is unlikely that ``-t0'' will hang. The default is ``-t0.''

To see a command summary, use the ``-h'' flag. If a command is included when ctlinnd is invoked with the ``-h'' flag, then only the usage for that command will be given.

If a large number of groups are going to be created or deleted at once, it may be more efficient to ``pause'' or ``throttle'' the server and edit the active file directly.

The complete list of commands follows. Note that all commands have a fixed number of arguments. If a parameter can be an empty string, then it is necessary to specify it as two adjacent quotes, like "".

addhist <Message-ID> arr exp post paths
    Add an entry to the history database. This directs the server to create a history line for Message-ID. The angle brackets are optional. Arr, exp, and post specify when the article arrived, what its expiration date is, and when it was posted. All three values are a number indicating the number of seconds since the epoch. If the article does not have an Expires header, then exp should be zero. Paths is the pathname within the news spool directory where the article is filed. If the article is cross-posted, then the names should be separated by whitespace and the paths argument should be inside double quotes. If the server is paused or throttled, this command causes it to briefly open the history database.

allow reason
    Remote connections are allowed. The reason must be the same text given with an earlier ``reject'' command, or an empty string.

begin site
    Begin feeding site. This will cause the server to rescan the newsfeeds(5) file to find the specified site and set up a newsfeed for it. If the site already exists, a ``drop'' is done first. This command is forwarded; see below.

cancel <Message-ID>
    Remove the article with the specified Message-ID from the local system. This does not generate a cancel message. The angle brackets are optional. If the server is paused or throttled, this command causes it to briefly open the history database.

changegroup group rest
    The newsgroup group is changed so that its fourth field in the active file becomes the value specified by the rest parameter. This may be used to make an existing group moderated or unmoderated, for example.

checkfile
    Check the syntax of the newsfeeds file, and display a message if any errors are found. The details of the errors are reported to syslog(3).

drop site
    Flush and drop site from the server's list of active feeds. This command is forwarded; see below.

flush site
    Flush the buffer for the specified site. The actions taken depend on the type of feed the site receives; see newsfeeds(5). This is useful when the site is fed by a file and batching is going to start. If site is an empty string, then all sites are flushed and the active file and history databases are also written out. This command is forwarded; see below.

flushlogs
    Close the log and error log files and rename them to have a .old extension. The history database and active file are also written out.

go reason
    Re-open the history database and start accepting articles after a ``pause'' or ``throttle'' command. The reason must either be an empty string or match the text that was given in the earlier ``pause'' or ``throttle'' command. If a ``reject'' command was done, this will also do an ``allow'' command if the reason matches the text that was given in the ``reject.'' If a ``reserve'' command was done, this will also clear the reservation if the reason matches the text that was given in the ``reserve.'' Note that if only the history database has changed while the server is paused or throttled, it is not necessary to send it a ``reload'' command before sending it a ``go'' command. If the server throttled itself because it accumulated too many I/O errors, this command will reset the error count. If the server was not started with the ``-ny'' flag, then this command also does a ``readers'' command with ``yes'' as the flag and reason as the text.

hangup channel
    Close the socket on the specified incoming channel. This is useful when an incoming connection appears to be hung.

help [command]
    Print a command summary for all commands, or just command if specified.

mode
    Print the server's operating mode as a multi-line summary of the parameters and operating state.

name nnn
    Print the name of channel number nnn or of all channels if it is an empty string.

newgroup group rest creator
    Create the specified newsgroup. The rest parameter should be the fourth field as described in active(5); if it is not an equal sign, only the first letter is used. The creator should be the name of the person creating the group. If the newsgroup already exists, this is equivalent to the ``changegroup'' command. This is the only command that has defaults. The creator can be omitted and will default to the empty string, and the rest parameter can be omitted and will default to ``y''. This command can be done while the server is paused or throttled; it will update its internal state when a ``go'' command is sent. This command updates the active.times (see active(5)) file.

param letter value
    Change the command-line parameters of the server. The combination of defaults make it possible to use the text of the Control header directly. Letter is the innd command-line option to set, and value is the new value. For example, ``i 5'' directs the server to allow only five incoming connections. To enable or disable the action of the ``-n'' flag, use the letter ``y'' or ``n'', respectively, for the value.

pause reason
    Pause the server so that no incoming articles are accepted. No existing connections are closed, but the history database is closed. This command should be used for short-term locks, such as when replacing the history files. If the server was not started with the ``-ny'' flag, then this command also does a ``readers'' command with ``no'' as the flag and reason as the text.

readers flag text
    Allow or disallow newsreaders. If flag starts with the letter ``n'' then newsreading is disallowed, by causing the server to pass the text as the value of the nnrpd(8) ``-r'' flag. If flag starts with the letter ``y'' and text is either an empty string, or the same string that was used when newsreading was disallowed, then newsreading will be allowed.

reject reason
    Remote connections (those that would not be handed off to nnrpd) are rejected, with reason given as the explanation.

reload what reason
    The server updates its in-memory copies of various configuration files. What identifies what should be reloaded. If it is an empty string or the word ``all'' then everything is reloaded; if it is the word ``history'' then the history database is closed and opened, if it is the word ``hosts.nntp'' then the hosts.nntp(5) file is reloaded; if it is the word ``active'' or ``newsfeeds'' then both the active and newsfeeds files are reloaded; if it is the word ``overview.fmt'' then the overview.fmt(5) file is reloaded. The reason is reported to syslog. There is no way to reload the data inn.conf(5) file; the server currently only uses the ``pathhost'' parameter, so this restriction should not be a problem.

renumber group
    Scan the spool directory for the specified newsgroup and update the low-water mark in the active file. If group is an empty string then all newsgroups are scanned.

reserve reason
    The next ``pause'' or ``throttle'' command must use reason as its text. This ``reservation'' is cleared by giving an empty string for the reason. This command is used by programs like expire(8) that want to avoid running into other instances of each other.

rmgroup group
    Remove the specified newsgroup. This is done by editing the active file. The spool directory is not touched, and any articles in the group will be expired using the default expiration parameters. Unlike the ``newgroup'' command, this command does not update the active.times file.

send feed text...
    The specified text is sent as a control line to the exploder feed.

shutdown reason
    The server is shut down, with the specified reason recorded in the log and sent to all open connections. It is a good idea to send a ``throttle'' command first.

signal sig site
    Signal sig is sent to the specified site, which must be a channel or exploder feed. Sig can be a numeric signal number or the word ``hup,'' ``int,'' or ``term''; case is not significant.

throttle reason
    Input is throttled so that all existing connections are closed and new connections are rejected. The history database is closed. This should be used for long-term locks, such as when expire is being run. If the server was not started with the ``-ny'' flag, then this command also does a ``readers'' command with ``no'' as the flag and reason as the text.

trace item flag
    Tracing is turned on or off for the specified item. Flag should start with the letter ``y'' or ``n'' to turn tracing on or off. If item starts is a number, then tracing is set for the specified innd channel, which must be for an incoming NNTP feed. If it starts with the letter ``i'' then general innd tracing is turned on or off. If it starts with the letter ``n'' then future nnrpd's will or will not have the ``-t'' flag enabled, as appropriate.

xabort reason
    The server logs the specified reason and then invokes the abort(3) routine.

xexec path
    The server gets ready to shut itself down, but instead of exiting it execs the specified path with all of its original arguments. If path is ``innd'' then /news/bin/innd is invoked; if it is ``inndstart'' then /news/bin/inndstart is invoked; if it is an empty string, it will invoke the appropriate program depending on whether or not it was started with the ``-p'' flag; any other value is an error.

In addition to being acted upon within the server, certain commands can be forwarded to the appropriate child process. If the site receiving the command is an exploder (such as buffchan(8)) or it is a funnel that feeds into an exploder, then the command can be forwarded. In this case, the server will send a command line to the exploder that consists of the ctlinnd command name. If the site funnels into an exploder that has an asterisk (``*'') in its ``W'' flag (see newsfweed(5)), then the site name will be appended to the command; otherwise no argument is appended.

BUGS
Ctlinnd uses the inndcomm(3) library, and is therefore limited to server replies no larger than 4k.

HISTORY
Written by Rich $alz <rsalz@uunet.uu.net> for InterNetNews.

SEE ALSO
active(5), expire(8), innd(8), inndcomm(3), inn.conf(5), newsfeeds(5), overview.fmt(5).