# ibm_hosts Manual Page

Note: This page is no longer being maintained for ibm_hosts 4.0 and later. Please refer to the the x3270 Wiki for up-to-date documentation.

## Contents

> Name
> Synopsis
> Description
> Example
> Files
> See Also

## Name

ibm_hosts - host database for x3270 and c3270

## Synopsis

/usr/lib/X11/x3270/ibm_hosts

## Description

The ibm_hosts file contains information regarding IBM hosts on the network. An IBM host is a host which can communicate with a 3270 terminal emulator such as x3270 or c3270. Each line defines a name in the following format (optional fields are shown in brackets):

name type [opt:]...[luname@]hostname[:port] [actions]

Items are separated by any number of blanks and/or TAB characters. A line beginning with # is taken as a comment (note that # anywhere else on a line does not indicate a comment).

The name field is a mnemonic used to identify the host.

The type field is a keyword that indicates the type of entry. The value primary means that the name will be included in host-selection menus that may be displayed by a 3270 emulator. The value alias means that the name will not be included in menus, but will still be accepted as valid input when a host name is required.

The hostname field is the Internet hostname or dot-notation Internet address of the host.

The hostname can include `s:' or `p:' prefixes, e.g., s:finicky (see the x3270(1) or c3270(1) man page sfor details). It can also include an LU name, separated by an `@' character, e.g., oddlu@bluehost. Finally, it can include a non-default port number, appended to the hostname with a colon `:' character, e.g., bluehost:97. (For compatibility with earlier versions of x3270, the port can also be separated by a slash `/' character.)

The optional actions field specifies actions to be taken once the connection is made and a data-entry field is defined. If the text looks like an action, e.g., PF(1), it is unmodified; otherwise it is taken as the parameter to the String() action. The actions are not intended for entering usernames and passwords; rather they provide an automated way of specifying a front-end menu option.

## Example

Given the following ibm_hosts file:

> mvs primary mvs-host
> tso alias mvs-host
> mvs2 primary mvs-host:4012
> vm primary vtam Tab() String(3) Enter()

A 3270 emulator will display four names (mvs, mvs2, afhost and vm) on its hosts menu. The names mvs and tso will cause connections to the host mvs-host. The name mvs2 will also cause a connection to mvs-host, but to port 4012 rather than the emulator's default port (usually 23). The name vm will cause the 3270 emulator to connect to the host vtam (presumably some sort of host-selection front-end), enter the string `3' on the second data-entry field on the screen, and send the Enter AID sequence.

## Files

/usr/lib/X11/x3270/ibm_hosts

## See Also

x3270(1), c3270(1)

This HTML document and the accompanying troff document were generated with a set of write-only m4 macros and the powerful vi editor.
Last modified 22 December 2025.