cm — connect to foreign systems using a variety of methods


cm [[-d] | [--display]] [[-n] | [--noconnect]] [ [[-l] | [--launcher]] launcher ] [[-h] | [--help]] name


cm is a command line program used to connect to other systems. cm does not actually initiate the connection; it looks in it's configuration files and constructs an appropriate command, which is then executed. Stock configuration includes support for ssh, telnet, rlogin, rdesktop, and vnc; administrators can add others methods by editing a configuration file.

cm searches for name in the names and abbreviations of configured directories. If a match is found, the connection is launched.


cm supports the following options:

-d, --display

display the command that will be executed

-n, --noconnect

Do not initiate the connection. If this is the only option specified, the cm program will do nothing. The -n option is most useful when combined with the -d option.

-h, --help

display a short usage message and exit

How it Works

cm uses the following procedure to launch a connection:

  1. Get the list of parameters for the connection type.

  2. Create a dictionary of Python variables; one for each parameter, that contains the values defined in this connection.

  3. Run the Python script for this connection type, using the dictionary of pre-configured values. The script must generate a command string to pass to a shell that will launch this connection.

  4. Execute the command string

Configuration Files



Copyright (c) 2003 Jared Crapo