---
name: "identd"
section: "8"
platform: "openbsd"
package: "man"
version: "8.0-current-20261101"
release: "OpenBSD 8.0-current (2026-11-01)"
platforms: ["linux", "openbsd"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/identd"
---

# identd(8)

Identification Protocol daemon

## NAME

**identd** – Identification Protocol daemon

## SYNOPSIS

**identd** \[**-46deHhNn**\] \[**-l** *address*\] \[**-t** *timeout*\]

## DESCRIPTION

**identd** is a server which implements the Identification Protocol as specified in RFC 1413.

**identd** operates by looking up specific TCP/IP connections and returning the name of the user running the process responsible for the connection.

The options are as follows:

- **-4**

  Forces **identd** to use IPv4 addresses only.

- **-6**

  Forces **identd** to use IPv6 addresses only.

- **-d**

  Do not daemonize. If this option is specified, **identd** will run in the foreground and log to stderr.

- **-e**

  Always return “UNKNOWN-ERROR” instead of the “NO-USER” or “INVALID-PORT” errors.

- **-H**

  Hide information about existing and non-existent users. This flag implies **-h**.

- **-h**

  Hide the actual information about the user by providing an opaque token instead. This token is entered into the local system logs so that the administrator can later discover who the real user was.

- **-l** *address*

  Listen on the specified address. By default **identd** listens on wildcard addresses.

- **-N**

  When replying with a user name or ID, first check for a file *.noident* in the user's home directory. If this file is accessible, return “HIDDEN-USER” instead of the normal USERID response.

- **-n**

  Always return UID numbers instead of usernames.

- **-t** *timeout*

  Specifies the idle timeout for client connections, in seconds. The default timeout is 120 seconds.

## STANDARDS

M. St. Johns, *Identification Protocol*, RFC 1413, February 1993.

## HISTORY

The **identd** command was originally a process run via [inetd(8)](/inetd/8.md). It was rewritten for OpenBSD 5.4 as a persistent non-blocking daemon.