Mac OS X for Unix Geeks

Name

scutil

Syntax

scutil [-r node_or_address | -w key [-t timeout]]

Description

Provides control of the System Configuration framework’s dynamic store. scutil opens an interactive session with configd, in which various commands are available to view and modify System Configuration keys.

As a quick sample run-through, invoke scutil. You will be placed at the scutil prompt. Enter open to start the session with configd, then enter list. You will see a set of keys, some of which are provided by the System Configuration framework (such as the keys in the File: domain), some of which are obtained from the preferences file /var/db/SystemConfiguration.xml (the Setup: keys), and some of which are published by the configuration agents (the State: keys). Enter get State:/Network/Global/DNS to load the dictionary associated with that key. Then run d.show to display it. You should see a list of DNS servers and search domains configured on your system. Finally, run close, then quit.

Options/Usage

-r

Checks for reachability of the node or address. (Any numerical argument seems to result in Reachable status.)

-t

Specifies the timeout to wait for the presence of a data store key, in seconds. The default is 15.

-w

Exits when the specified key exists in the data store or when the timeout has expired.

Commands

scutil enters interactive mode when it is invoked with no arguments.

add key [temporary]

Adds a key to the data store with the value of the current dictionary. The temporary keyword causes it ...