.\" tntctl(1) - TNT control client
.TH TNTCTL 1 "2026-05-24" "TNT 1.0.1" "User Commands"
.SH NAME
tntctl \- thin control client for a TNT server
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B tntctl
.RB [ \-p | \-\-port
.IR port ]
.RB [ \-l | \-\-login
.IR user ]
.RB [ \-\-host\-key\-checking
.IR mode ]
.RB [ \-\-known\-hosts
.IR file ]
.I host
.I command
.RI [ args ...]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.B tntctl
runs TNT's documented SSH exec commands through the local
.BR ssh (1)
client.
It is intentionally a thin wrapper: it does not introduce a second control
protocol and does not bypass SSH host-key checking or authentication.
.PP
The command names, exit statuses, and JSON fields are shared with the SSH exec
interface documented in
.IR docs/INTERFACE.md .
.SH OPTIONS
.TP
.BR \-p ", " \-\-port " " \fIport\fR
Connect to
.I port
instead of the default 2222.
.TP
.BR \-l ", " \-\-login " " \fIuser\fR
Use
.I user
as the SSH login name.
For
.B post
commands, TNT uses this login name as the exec message identity.
.TP
.BR \-\-host\-key\-checking " " \fIyes|accept-new|no\fR
Set OpenSSH
.B StrictHostKeyChecking
to one of the listed modes.
.TP
.BR \-\-known\-hosts " " \fIfile\fR
Set the OpenSSH
.B UserKnownHostsFile
path.
.TP
.BR \-V ", " \-\-version
Print version and exit.
.TP
.BR \-h ", " \-\-help
Print a short usage summary and exit.
.SH COMMANDS
.TP
.B health
Print service health.
.TP
.B stats [--json]
Print room statistics.
.TP
.B users [--json]
List online users.
.TP
.B tail [N]
Print recent messages.
.TP
.B tail -n N
Print recent messages.
.TP
.B dump [N]
Export persisted messages.
.TP
.B dump -n N
Export persisted messages.
.TP
.B post MESSAGE
Post a message non-interactively.
.TP
.B help
Print the server exec help.
.SH EXAMPLES
.nf
tntctl chat.example.com health
tntctl -p 2222 chat.example.com stats --json
tntctl -p 2222 chat.example.com dump -n 100
tntctl -l operator chat.example.com post "service notice"
tntctl --host-key-checking accept-new chat.example.com users
.fi
.SH EXIT STATUS
.TP
.B 0
Success.
.TP
.B 1
Runtime error in the local wrapper.
.TP
.B 64
Usage error, either from
.B tntctl
or the remote TNT exec command.
.TP
.B 69
The local
.BR ssh (1)
client could not be executed or exited with OpenSSH's transport-failure status.
.TP
.B 78
Reserved for future local configuration errors.
.SH SECURITY
.B tntctl
passes arguments directly to
.BR ssh (1)
without invoking a local shell.
It does not accept arbitrary SSH options or a password option.
Only the bounded host-key options above are exposed.  Use normal SSH
configuration for jump hosts, identity files, and authentication.  If the server
requires an access token, enter it through the normal SSH password prompt.
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR tnt (1),
.BR ssh (1)