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

# motd(5)

message of the day

## NAME

motd - message of the day

## DESCRIPTION

The contents of */etc/motd* are displayed by [**login**(1)](/login/1.md) after a successful login but just before it executes the login shell.

The abbreviation "motd" stands for "message of the day", and this file has been traditionally used for exactly that (it requires much less disk space than mail to all users).

## FILES

*/etc/motd*

## SEE ALSO

[**login**(1)](/login/1.md), [**issue**(5)](/issue/5.md)