====== Default Login Module ======

The **default login module** (''[[dir:exec]]/login.js'') is the standard logon-handler shipped with Synchronet. It runs after you connect (Telnet, SSH, RLogin, web, etc.) and before any [[user:shell:|command shell]] starts. It collects your username and password, runs through new-user signup if you're new, and then hands off to the appropriate post-logon module.

Most Synchronet BBSes use this module unchanged. Sysops can swap it out (configured in [[util:SCFG]] -> System -> Loadable Modules -> Login), so a few BBSes show different login screens — but the core flow described here applies to the stock module.

===== What you see when you connect =====

After your terminal client establishes a connection, Synchronet first runs **terminal auto-detection** to figure out what your terminal can do — ANSI / CP437 / UTF-8 / size — by sending a few short ANSI probes and reading your responses. You normally don't see this happen; it takes a fraction of a second.

The BBS then displays its **welcome banner** (some sysops customize this heavily; on [[bbs:vertrauen|Vertrauen]] it's a large ANSI logo with system info), followed by:

  CLIENT CONN: Telnet
         ADDR: <your hostname/IP>
         TERM: 80x24 UTF-8 / ANSI
  SERVER NAME: <BBS name>
         ADDR: <BBS hostname>
         NODE: <n> (of <max>) - <OS>
         TIME: <date/time> <TZ>
         ADMN: <sysop>

  [Hit a key]

''TERM:'' confirms what auto-detect concluded about your terminal (e.g. ''80x24 UTF-8 / ANSI'', ''80x24 CP437 / DUMB'', ''80x24 US-ASCII / DUMB''). If something looks wrong, you can override it after logon in your [[user:settings|User Settings]] menu.

Press any key at ''[Hit a key]'' to continue.

===== The Login: / Password: prompts =====

Next you'll see:

  If you are a new user to the system, type "New" now.
  Otherwise, enter your user name or number now.

  Enter User Name or Number or 'New' or 'Guest'
  Login:

This is the **modern Synchronet login prompt** (older Synchronet documentation may refer to ''NN:'' / ''PW:'' prompts — those were the v1/v2-era equivalents and are no longer used).

Type one of:

  * Your **user name** (e.g. ''Claudeai-Docs'')
  * Your **user number** (e.g. ''1191'')
  * ''New'' — to create a new account (see [[#new_user_registration|below]])
  * ''Guest'' — if the sysop has enabled guest access; lets you look around without registering

The login prompt is **case-insensitive** for the user name. Some BBSes also accept slash-prefixed forms — e.g. ''*username'' to bypass the QWK-only restriction on a [[howto:qwk-network-hub|QWKnet node account]].

If you entered a real user name or number, the BBS prompts:

  Password:

Enter your password (it echoes as ''*''s). On success you advance to logon and the [[user:shell:|command shell]]; on failure the BBS gives you a few more attempts before dropping the connection.

===== New user registration =====

Type ''New'' at the ''Login:'' prompt to start account creation. The registration flow is handled by separate modules — primarily ''newuser_prompts'' and ''newuser_signup'' — and is documented on its own page:

  * **[[user:login:newuser|New User Registration]]** — terminal setup, alias, personal info, password, shell selection

===== Logging on as an existing user =====

Existing users skip steps 1-6 entirely — you just provide your name and password and go straight to the post-logon flow:

  * Any logon banners / "news" the sysop has set up (text files, ANSI art).
  * The //"useful keys"// reminder ([[user:ctrl_keys|Ctrl-key commands]] tutorial).
  * If you have unread e-mail, an option to read it now.
  * If your [[user:settings|User Settings]] has //"Ask For New Message/File Scan"// enabled, the prompt:\\ ''[+] Search all groups for new messages? [Yes] No''
  * Then the shell starts.

===== Sysop customization =====

The modules involved in logon are independently swappable — your BBS may behave differently from the stock flow. Each is configured under [[util:SCFG]] -> System -> Loadable Modules:

  * **Login** (default ''login'') — the prompt sequence and new-user trigger. Replacing this is the deepest customization.
  * **Logon** (''logon'') — runs after authentication, before the shell. Often used for daily news or quote-of-the-day.
  * New-user modules — see [[user:login:newuser|New User Registration]] for the full list.

===== Logging off =====

Logoff is handled by your [[user:shell:|command shell]], not the login module. In [[user:shell:classic|Classic]], use ''O'' from the Main or File Transfer prompt (with confirmation), or ''/O'' for an immediate quick logoff.

===== See Also =====

  * [[user:login:|Login Modules index]]
  * [[user:|User Documentation]]
  * [[:module:login|login module — sysop-side reference]]
  * [[:module:newuser|newuser module]]
  * [[user:settings|User Settings]] — change password, handle, alias, etc. after signup
  * [[howto:qwk-network-hub|QWK Network Hub]] — one specialized account type using the ''Q'' restriction

{{tag>user login default newuser registration}}
