Linux and Unix telnet command

Uses the telnet protocol to connect to another remote computer.

Syntax

telnet [-8] [-E] [-L] [-c] [-d] [-r] [ -e escape_char ] [ -l user ] [-n file ] [ host [ port ] ]

-8	Specifies an 8-bit data path. Negotiating the TELNET BINARY option is attempted for both input and output.
-E	Stops any character from being recognized as an escape character.
-L	Specifies an 8-bit data path on output. This causes the BINARY option to be negotiated on output.
-c	Disables the reading of the user's telnetrc file.
-d	Sets the initial value of the debug toggle to TRUE.
-r	Specifies a user interface similar to rlogin . In this mode, the escape character is set to the tilde (~) character, unless modified by the -e option. The rlogin escape character is only recognized when it is preceded by a carriage return. In this mode, the telnet escape character, normally '^]', must still precede a telnet command. The rlogin escape character can also be followed by '.\r' or '^Z', and, like rlogin, closes or suspends the connection, respectively. This option is an uncommitted inter- face and may change in the future.
-e escape_char	Sets the initial escape character to escape_char. escape_char may also be a two character sequence consisting of '^' followed by one character. If the second character is '?', the DEL character is selected. Otherwise, the second character is converted to a control character and used as the escape character. If the escape character is the null string (that is, -e ''), it is disabled.
-l user	When connecting to a remote system that understands the ENVIRON option, then user will be sent to the remote system as the value for the ENVIRON variable USER.
-n file	Opens tracefile for recording trace information.

Examples

telnet host.com

The above example would open a telnet session to the domain host.com.

Caution: Telnet is not encrypted and all data, including passwords is sent accross a network as plaintext. If intercepted, someone could learn your username and password. Instead of using Telnet consider using SSH.

Additional examples and general information on telnet can also be found on our telnet help page.