---
name: "issue"
section: "5"
platform: "linux"
package: "man-pages"
version: "6.19-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/issue"
---

# issue(5)

prelogin message and identification file

## NAME

issue - prelogin message and identification file

## DESCRIPTION

*/etc/issue* is a text file which contains a message or system identification to be printed before the login prompt. It may contain various **@***char* and **\\***char* sequences, if supported by the **getty**-type program employed on the system.

## FILES

*/etc/issue*

## SEE ALSO

[**motd**(5)](/motd/5.md), [**agetty**(8)](/agetty/8.md), [**mingetty**(8)](/mingetty/8.md)