---
name: "owl"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "owl"
version: "2.2.2-4.1"
release: "Debian 9 (Stretch)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/owl"
---

# owl(1)

tty based zephyr client

## NAME

owl - tty based zephyr client

## SYNOPSIS

**owl** \[ -n \] \[ -d \] \[ -D \] \[ -v \] \[ -h \] \[ -c *configfile* \] \[ -t *tty* \]

## DESCRIPTION

**Owl** is a fully integrated tty based instant messaging client.  Currently it supports AOL Instant Messenger and MIT Zephyr.  It is curses-based, allows for emacs style editing of outgoing messages and uses a perl configuration language for setting options and customizing message formatting.  Owl will also run happily without a configuration file.

Once Owl is started, typing 'h' will display a help screen.  Typing ´:´ enters command mode, allowing the user to type an owl command line.

## USE

The following command line options are avilable when running owl:

**-n**

-

  Do not subscribe to zephyr messages on startup.  By default Owl subscribes to the default subscriptions and to anything found in ~/.zephyr.subs.  When this option is used no subscriptions are loaded.

**-c *configfile***

-

  Specifiy an alternate config file for Owl to use.  The default configuration file is ~/.owlconf

**-t *tty***

-

  Specifiy the tty name to use for the zephyr location.

**-v**

-

  Print the version number of owl and exit.

**-d**

-

  Enable debugging.  By default debugging information is placed in /var/tmp/owldebug.

**-D**

-

  Enable debugging, but first delete any existing debugging file.

**-h**

-

  Print command line option help.

## AUTHOR

Written by James Kretchmar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Comments, questions, and bug reports may be mailed to **bug-owl@ktools.org**.