---
name: "pam_chatty"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "pam_wrapper"
version: "1.1.8-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/pam_chatty"
---

# pam\_chatty(8)

A PAM test module that generates PAM info and error messages.

## NAME

pam\_chatty - A PAM test module that generates PAM info and error messages.

## SYNOPSIS

pam\_chatty.so \[...\]

## DESCRIPTION

The **pam\_chatty** module makes it easy to replicate the behaviour of PAM modules that generate a lot of output, in order to ensure that PAM clients react as expected.

## IMPORTANT

pam\_chatty is a **test tool**. It should be considered completely insecure and never used outside test environments! As you’ll see when reading description of the options, many of them don’t make any sense in the real world and were added just to make tests possible.

The pam\_chatty module generates a lot of PAM info and error output, when its authentication method is called, and then returns success.

## OPTIONS

• **num\_lines=NUMBER** - the number of lines of messages to output, for each one of the enabled types of messages selected.

• **error** - whether to output error level messages.

• **info** - whether to output info level messages.

## MODULE TYPES PROVIDED

Only the **auth** module type is supported.

## EXAMPLE

```
auth            required        pam_chatty.so num_lines=16 info error
```