getpass()

Prompt for and read a password

Synopsis:

#include <unistd.h>

char *getpass( const char *prompt );

Library:

libc

Description:

The getpass() function can be used to get a password. It opens the current terminal, displays the given prompt, suppresses echoing, reads up to 32 characters into a static buffer, and restores echoing. A null character is added to the end of the string. Additional characters and the newline character are ignored.

Returns:

A pointer to the static buffer.

Classification:

Legacy Unix

Caveats:

This function leaves its result in an internal static buffer and returns a pointer to it. Subsequent calls to getpass() modify the same buffer. The calling process should zero the password as soon as possible to avoid leaving the clear-text password visible in the process's address space.

See also:

crypt()