getlist - Get a list from an NNTP server
getlist [
-AR] [
-h host] [
-p port] [
list [
pattern [
types]]]
getlist obtains a list from an NNTP server and sends it to standard
output.
list may be one of "active" (which is the default
value), "active.times", "distrib.pats", or
"newsgroups". "active" contains a list of all newsgroups
carried by the server with the high and low article numbers in the group, and
the group status field. "active.times" is a list of newsgroups,
their creation times (in seconds since epoch), and the creator of the group.
"distrib.pats" is a list of relevant distributions and the
newsgroups they apply to. "newsgroups" is a list of newsgroups along
with their short descriptions.
For more information on the formats of these files, see
active(5),
active.times(5),
distrib.pats(5) and
newsgroups(5).
The listing files other than the
active file are common extensions to the
NNTP protocol and may not be available on all servers. For instance,
"counts" "distributions", "headers",
"moderators", "motd", "overview.fmt" and
"subscriptions", amongst other, may be available. Moreover, a
uwildmat pattern
pattern may also be usable for some of these
listing files.
For more information on the formats of these files, see
distributions(5),
moderators(5),
motd.news(5) and
subscriptions(5). The
overview fields obtained with "overview.fmt" are the ones for which
the overview database is consistent (see
extraoverviewadvertised in
inn.conf for more information). The list obtained with
"headers" contains the fields that can be retrieved using the HDR
command (
pattern can then be either "msgid" or
"range"). The list obtained with "counts" is like the
"active" one except that the number of articles in a newsgroup is
mentioned just before the flag of this newsgroup.
The
pattern parameter may be used with a
list value of
"active", "active.times" or "newsgroups" to
limit the output. If given, only entries corresponding to newsgroups that
match the
uwildmat pattern
pattern will be printed.
If the
list parameter is "active", a third parameter,
types, may also be used to restrict the list. If given, only entries
corresponding to newsgroups with a newsgroup mode found in
types will
be printed. For example, a
types value of "y" would only show
unmoderated groups, and a
types value of "ym" would show all
unmoderated and moderated groups but not aliased groups or groups that
disallow postings.
- -A
- Try to authenticate using the username and password
information in passwd.nntp(5) before issuing the LIST command.
-
-h host
- Connect to the server host rather than to the value
of server in inn.conf or the value of the NNTPSERVER
environment variable.
-
-p port
- Connect to the port port, which is by default
119.
- -R
- Try to switch to nnrpd with a MODE READER command
before issuing the LIST request. It can be useful in case a feeding access
exists for the news server: more information can be retrieved from
nnrpd, compared with innd.
The following command will obtain the one-line descriptions of all newsgroups
found on UUNET:
getlist -h news.uu.net newsgroups
The following command will show the active file entries for all moderated comp.*
groups on the default server:
getlist active 'comp.*' m
The following command lists all groups where local postings are permitted, are
moderated or aliased:
getlist active '*' ym=
Note that the wildcard character "*" has to be quoted by simple quotes
to protect it from the shell.
Written by Landon Curt Noll <
[email protected]> for InterNetNews. Rewritten
in POD by Russ Allbery <
[email protected]>.
active(5),
active.times(5),
distrib.pats(5),
distributions(5),
inn.conf(5),
libinn_uwildmat(3),
moderators(5),
motd.news(5),
newsgroups(5),
nnrpd(8),
passwd.nntp(5),
subscriptions(5).