Tip: nmtui NetworkManager, Terminal Interface (also Bug#694068 + hostname)

[Cindy-Sue Causey <butterflybytes@gmail.com>]

Hi..

Sharing the existence of the Debian package called "nmtui" because the
only 5 references to it in possibly 200,000 emails are from this past
week k/t Debian-Accessibility and Debian-User listservs [1], [2].
Thought maybe nmtui's interface might prove more user friendly for
those who found nothing else helped when setting up networking.

Being familiar with the acronym, GUI, for graphical user interface,
that "TUI" leaped off the page. Per its manual page, nmtui is "Text
User Interface for controlling NetworkManager". If one follows the
nmtui acronym per chatter out and about, NetworkManager
text/textual/text-based user interface works, too.

>From "man nmtui":

+++++++ BEGIN "man nmtui" SNIPPET +++++++

DESCRIPTION
       nmtui is a curses‐based TUI application for interacting with
NetworkManager. When
       starting nmtui, the user is prompted to choose the activity to
perform unless it was
       specified as the first argument.

       The supported activities are:

       edit
           Show a connection editor that supports adding, modifying,
viewing and deleting
           connections. It provides similar functionality as
nm-connection-editor.

       connect
           Show a list of available connections, with the option to
activate or deactivate
           them. It provides similar functionality as nm-applet.

       hostname
           Set the system hostname.

       Corresponding to above activities, nmtui also comes with
binaries named nmtui-edit,
       nmtui-connect, and nmtui-hostname to skip the selection of the
activities.

SEE ALSO
       nmcli(1), nm-applet(1), nm-connection-editor(1), NetworkManager(8).

+++++++ END "man nmtui" SNIPPET +++++++

If anyone has feedback on nmtui's apparently very ready access to
changing hostname, that might help others down the road. My memory is
that topic was possibly discussed very recently.

This is an awfully easy way to change hostname. It's even offering
that point of change to my normal user. I can't afford to lose my
computer's operability today so I haven't tested that part to see if
it at least asks for root's password before committing that change.

Related to this on that same Debian-Accessibility thread [3], there's
a bug that maybe someone with network programming strengths could
please check out:

Debian Bug report logs - #694068
Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:33:02 UTC
netcfg: Wireless connectivity present during an install but absent afterwards
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=694068

Reading that bug, kneejerk is that correcting that is going to help
*ALL* Debian Users. It feels like that bug's title reads similar to
content in several Debian-User threads (also) lately..

Hope knowledge of nmtui helps someone.. at some point.. some day. Good luck!

Cindy :)

[1] Re: stretch orca and wifi connection setup @ Debian-Accessibility
https://lists.debian.org/debian-accessibility/2016/12/msg00031.html

[2] Re: Where are WiFi passwords (WPA keys) stored? @ Debian-User
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2016/12/msg00171.html

[3] Re: stretch orca and wifi connection setup @ Debian-Accessibility
https://lists.debian.org/debian-accessibility/2016/12/msg00023.html

-- 
Cindy-Sue Causey
Talking Rock, Pickens County, Georgia, USA

* runs with plastic sporks *