Message of the day

Many computer systems display a message of the day or welcome message when a user first connects to them, logs in to them, or starts them. It is a way of sending a common message to all users, and may include information about system changes, system availability, and so on. More recently, systems have displayed personalized messages of the day.

Default motd showing on OpenBSD 5.3

On many time-sharing systems, the contents of the message of the day are fetched from a system file:

• Compatible Time-Sharing System;^[1]
• Multics: the motd info segment;^[2][3]
• TOPS-10^[3]
• Incompatible Timesharing System (ITS)^[3]
• Unix-like systems: the /etc/motd file
• Univac VS/9^[4]
• CP/CMS^[5]

Usage

The contents of the special file are displayed after the user logs in successfully, typically before the login shell is started.^[6]

Newer Unix-like systems may generate the message dynamically when the host boots or a user logs in.^[7]

Various server-based PC games display messages of the day, including Half-Life, Call of Duty, Minecraft, and Battlefield. They may be personalized, encouraging users to try new features or make in-game purchases.^[8]

Some IRC servers also display a message of the day on login.^[9]

See also

• System console
• fortune (Unix)