wall - macOS

Overview

wall sends a message to all users who are currently logged in. This is a simple way to broadcast messages for announcements or emergencies.

Syntax

wall [options] [message]

Options/Flags

| Option | Description |
|—|—|
| -h | Print help message |
| -n | Disable sound notification |
| -t | Send time message before message (default: no) |

Examples

Example 1: Send a simple message

wall Hello everyone!

Example 2: Send a message with a timestamp

wall -t Hello everyone! This message was sent at $(date)

Example 3: Send a message with no sound notification

wall -n Server is going down for maintenance in 15 minutes.

Common Issues

  • Message not received: Ensure that users are actively logged in and have message receipt enabled in their settings.
  • Permission denied: The user running wall must have administrator privileges.

Integration

  • Combine with uptime to display system information before the message.
  • Use with find and xargs to send a message to specific users.
  • broadcast
  • say
  • notify-send