# BOLTCTL - control the thunderbolt device manager - man(1) - [phpMan] > **TLDR:** Control thunderbolt devices. > - List connected (and authorized) devices: `boltctl` - List connected devices, including unauthorized ones: `boltctl list` - Authorize a device temporarily: `boltctl authorize {{device_uuid}}` - Authorize and remember a device: `boltctl enroll {{device_uuid}}` - Revoke a previously authorized device: `boltctl forget {{device_uuid}}` - Show more information about a device: `boltctl info {{device_uuid}}` *Source: tldr-pages* --- [_BOLTCTL_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/BOLTCTL/1/markdown) bolt Manual [_BOLTCTL_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/BOLTCTL/1/markdown) ## NAME boltctl - control the thunderbolt device manager ## SYNOPSIS **boltctl _**authorize_ _DEVICE_ **boltctl _**config_ **boltctl _**domains_ **boltctl _**enroll_ _DEVICE_ **boltctl _**forget_ _DEVICE_ **boltctl _**info_ _DEVICE_ **boltctl _**list_ **boltctl _**monitor_ **boltctl _**power_ ## DESCRIPTION _boltctl_ is the command line interface to interact with _boltd_, the system daemon that manages Thunderbolt 3(TM) devices. It can be used to query the state of devices as well as manage them. Devices can be globally identified via their unique identifier (uuid). All commands that take a _DEVICE_ identifier expect this unique id. If no command is given, it is equivalent to _boltctl_ _list_. ## OPTIONS ### --version Print version information and exit. ### -U | --uuid {_ Control how UUIDs are printed. Since they are somewhat sensitive data it is not advisable to share them publicly in full length. Instead _short_ or _alias_ can and should be used when sharing the output of _boltctl_. _full_ Print all UUIDs in full length. _short_ Truncate all UUIDs so only the first 13 characters are printed. _alias_ All UUIDs are replaced by a random string that is derived from the UUID, therefore the devices can be uniquely identified without revealing the original UUID. N If a integer _N_ is specified, all UUIDs are truncated to only show up to _N_. ## COMMANDS ### authorize [-F | --first-time] DEVICE Authorize a currently unauthorized device identified via its unique id (uuid) _DEVICE_. If a key is stored in the database it will be used, given the security level of the domain supports secure device connection. Use _boltctl_ _list_ to find out the uuid of a device. ### -F | --first-time Normally, when attempting to authorize an already authorized device **boltctl **will do nothing and return a successful status code. When using this option, the attempt will fail and result in a negative exit code if the device is already authorized. ### config --describe [global|domain|device] List global, domain, or all (if nothing is specified) properties. The format is 3 columns: permission, name, description. Permission indicates if the property is only readable or can also be written. **config _KEY_ **[_**VALUE_**] Get or set, if _VALUE_ is specified, a global property. **config _.KEY_ _TARGET_ **[_**VALUE_**] Get or set, if _VALUE_ is specified, a domain or device property, where _TARGET_ is the unique id of the domain or the device. ### domains [-v | --verbose] List all currently active Thunderbolt domains. A Thunderbolt domain represents the Thunderbolt controller hardware. There will be one domain (and host device) for each Thunderbolt controller present in the system. The _security_ property shows the security level of the controller. If _iommu_ support is active (see the **boltd **man page) it will be indicated by a _+iommu_ suffix for "secure" or "user" mode, or just plain _iommu_ in case the security level is "none" (sl0). _bootacl_ shows the used and total slots of the boot access control list (BootACL) and the content of all non-empty entries. NB: if BootACL is unsupported it will show 0 for both (0/0). The _online_ property shows if the thunderbolt controller is currently powered by the firmware. **NB**: if the controller is currently offline the BootACL list will reflect what _boltd_ estimates the list will look like once the controller is back online and local changes have been synchronized to the controller. This might not be accurate if the list was modified in the meantime, e.g. from a different installation or OS. **enroll [--policy _policy_**] **DEVICE** Authorize and record the device with the unique id _DEVICE_ in the database. If the domain supports secure connection a new key will be generated and stored in the database alongside the device name and vendor name. The key, if created, will be used in the future to securely authorize the device. **--policy {_**default_ **| _**auto_ **| _**manual_**}** Specify the policy to be used for the newly enrolled device. _default_ Use the global default policy of the daemon; this can be changed, but is normally also _auto_. _auto_ Automatically authorize this device whenever it is connected. _manual_ Do **not **automatically authorize the device; instead require manual authorization via **boltctl authorize**. ### forget DEVICE Remove the information about the device with the unique id _DEVICE_ from the database. This includes the key, if one was previously generated. If you pass _--all_ instead of the _DEVICE_ all devices are removed instead of just one. ### info DEVICE Display information about the device with the unique id _DEVICE_. ### list [-a | --all] List and print information about all connected and stored devices. ### -a | --all Normally, the only the device type that will be shown is peripherals. Therefore the device that represents the host itself will be omitted. Using this option will instead include all device types in the list. ### monitor Listen for and show changes in connected devices. **power [-t | --timeout _seconds_**] [-q | --query] Power up the Thunderbolt controller. If the Thunderbolt controller is not in "native enumeration mode" it can be completely powered down by the host firmware/BIOS. On supported systems there is an interface to "force" power the thunderbolt controller. If supported this command will request the daemon to do so. The daemon will keep track of all client requests and will release the force power override when the last request is released. ### -t | --timeout _ Release the force power request after the specified amount of _seconds_ and exit. ### -q | --query Query the current force power status of the daemon. ## AUTHOR Written by Christian Kellner <>. bolt 0.9.7 04/01/2024 [_BOLTCTL_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/BOLTCTL/1/markdown)