whoami
| Developer(s) | Richard Mlynarik, Microsoft, ReactOS Contributors, Novell |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Unix, Unix-like, Microsoft Windows, ReactOS, NetWare |
| Type | Command |
In computing, whoami is a command found on most Unix-like operating systems, every Windows operating system since Windows Server 2003, and on ReactOS. It is a concatenation of the words "Who am I?" and prints the effective username of the current user when invoked.
Overview
The command has the same effect as the Unix command id -un. On Unix-like operating systems, the output of the command is slightly different from $USER because whoami outputs the username that the user is working under, whereas $USER outputs the username that was used to log in. For example, if the user logged in as John and su into root, whoami displays root and echo $USER displays John. This is because the su command does not invoke a login shell by default.
The earliest versions were created in 2.9 BSD as a convenience form for who am i, the Berkeley Unix who command's way of printing just the logged in user's identity.[1] The GNU version was written by Richard Mlynarik and is part of the GNU Core Utilities (coreutils).
The command is also available as part of the Windows 2000 Resource Kit[2] and Windows XP SP2 Support Tools.[3]
This command was also available as a NetWare-Command residing in the public-directory of the fileserver. It also outputs the current connections to which server the workstation is attached with which username.
Example
Unix, Unix-like
# whoami
root
Windows, ReactOS
C:\Users\admin>whoami
workgroup\admin
See also
References
External links
- – 4.2BSD General Commands Manual
- – FreeBSD General Commands Manual
- Microsoft TechNet Whoami article
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