Quickly broadcast text messages to every logged-in terminal to announce maintenance or urgent notices. 16.11.2025 | reading time: 2 min Need to warn every interactive user on a server at once? Use the "wall" utility to push a short text message to all logged-in terminals; this page shows concrete commands and typical output so the administrator can act immediately. Practical example: a maintenance warning Tell, do: create and broadcast a short maintenance message; for instance, run the command and watch the terminals update: ```echo "Server reboot in 10 minutes" | wall Broadcast message from root@server (pts/0) at 14:02 ... Server reboot in 10 minutes ``` Sending a prepared file or suppressing the banner Write the notice to a file and broadcast it, or omit the header if you prefer a clean text-only message; examples: ```cat > /tmp/notice.txt <<EOF Service will restart at 22:00 EOF wall /tmp/notice.txt # or, without the banner wall -n /tmp/notice.txt ``` What actually happens and important caveats wall iterates over current utmp entries and writes to each user's terminal device, so users who disabled messaging with "mesg n" may not see the broadcast; root can still deliver broader notices but should respect active sessions; use cron to schedule recurring announcements or pipe from scripts when an automated alert is required. Other tools in the same space For one-to-one communication use "write" or establish a conversation with "talk"; for pre-login information consider updating "/etc/motd" or the SSH banner for messages presented at login, and remember that these tools complement, not replace, proper incident procedures. Wrap-up and next steps You have seen how to compose and send broadcasts with direct commands, how to use files and suppress the header, and which limitations to watch for; explore scripting broadcasts for scheduled maintenance and practice in a safe environment to build confidence and speed; consider deepening Linux skills and exam readiness with targeted training such as CompTIA Linux+ or LPIC-1 at bitsandbytes.academy. Join Bits & Bytes Academy First class LINUX exam preparation. utilities network processes troubleshooting scripting
