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#### 27.7.1 Identifying the Controlling Terminal

You can use the `ctermid` function to get a file name that you can use to open the controlling terminal. In the GNU C Library, it returns the same string all the time: `"/dev/tty"`. That is a special “magic” file name that refers to the controlling terminal of the current process (if it has one). To find the name of the specific terminal device, use `ttyname`; see Is It a Terminal.

The function `ctermid` is declared in the header file `stdio.h`.

— Function: char * ctermid (char *string)

> The `ctermid` function returns a string containing the file name of the controlling terminal for the current process. If string is not a null pointer, it should be an array that can hold at least `L_ctermid` characters; the string is returned in this array. Otherwise, a pointer to a string in a static area is returned, which might get overwritten on subsequent calls to this function.

> An empty string is returned if the file name cannot be determined for any reason. Even if a file name is returned, access to the file it represents is not guaranteed.

— Macro: int L_ctermid

> The value of this macro is an integer constant expression that represents the size of a string large enough to hold the file name returned by `ctermid`.

See also the `isatty` and `ttyname` functions, in Is It a Terminal.