# Re: \[PATCH v2\] tee: Add -q, --quiet, --silent option to not write to stdout

- From: Alejandro Colomar (man-pages) \<hidden\>
- Date: 2021-01-22 18:28:03 
- List: linux-api
- Page: https://ratatoskr.run/linux-api/2021/01/13330003
- Thread: https://ratatoskr.run/linux-api/2021/01/13330001/t.md

```text
I added a few FreeBSD CCs that I found on their tee.c's git blame, because the freebsd list rejects external mail.

Please have a look at the proposal below, and the discussion that started on gnu coreutil's list.

On 1/22/21 12:12 AM, Alejandro Colomar wrote:
> This is useful for using tee to just write to a file,
> at the end of a pipeline,
> without having to redirect to /dev/null.
>
> Example:
> 	echo 'foo' | sudo tee -q /etc/foo;
> is equivalent to the old (and ugly)
> 	echo 'foo' | sudo tee /etc/foo >/dev/null;
>
> Tools with a similar interface: grep
>
> Signed-off-by: Alejandro Colomar <redacted>
> ---
>
> v2: Add --silent synonym to --quiet, per GNU guidelines.
>      I tested tee --silent with success.
>
>   src/tee.c | 16 ++++++++++++++--
>   1 file changed, 14 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/src/tee.c b/src/tee.c
> index c81faea91..68ace983a 100644
> --- a/src/tee.c
> +++ b/src/tee.c
> @@ -45,6 +45,9 @@ static bool append;
>   /* If true, ignore interrupts. */
>   static bool ignore_interrupts;
>   
> +/* Don't write to stdout */
> +static bool quiet;
> +
>   enum output_error
>     {
>       output_error_sigpipe,      /* traditional behavior, sigpipe enabled.  */
> @@ -61,6 +64,8 @@ static struct option const long_options[] =
>     {"append", no_argument, NULL, 'a'},
>     {"ignore-interrupts", no_argument, NULL, 'i'},
>     {"output-error", optional_argument, NULL, 'p'},
> +  {"quiet", no_argument, NULL, 'q'},
> +  {"silent", no_argument, NULL, 'q'},
>     {GETOPT_HELP_OPTION_DECL},
>     {GETOPT_VERSION_OPTION_DECL},
>     {NULL, 0, NULL, 0}
> @@ -93,6 +98,7 @@ Copy standard input to each FILE, and also to standard output.\n\
>   "), stdout);
>         fputs (_("\
>     -p                        diagnose errors writing to non pipes\n\
> +  -q, --quiet, --silent     don't write to standard output\n\
>         --output-error[=MODE]   set behavior on write error.  See MODE below\n\
>   "), stdout);
>         fputs (HELP_OPTION_DESCRIPTION, stdout);
> @@ -130,6 +136,7 @@ main (int argc, char **argv)
>   
>     append = false;
>     ignore_interrupts = false;
> +  quiet = false;
>   
>     while ((optc = getopt_long (argc, argv, "aip", long_options, NULL)) != -1)
>       {
> @@ -151,6 +158,10 @@ main (int argc, char **argv)
>               output_error = output_error_warn_nopipe;
>             break;
>   
> +        case 'q':
> +          quiet = true;
> +          break;
> +
>           case_GETOPT_HELP_CHAR;
>   
>           case_GETOPT_VERSION_CHAR (PROGRAM_NAME, AUTHORS);
> @@ -235,8 +246,9 @@ tee_files (int nfiles, char **files)
>           break;
>   
>         /* Write to all NFILES + 1 descriptors.
> -         Standard output is the first one.  */
> -      for (i = 0; i <= nfiles; i++)
> +         Standard output is the first one.
> +         If 'quiet' is true, write to descriptors 1 and above (omit stdout)  */
> +      for (i = quiet; i <= nfiles; i++)
>           if (descriptors[i]
>               && fwrite (buffer, bytes_read, 1, descriptors[i]) != 1)
>             {
>


-- 
--
Alejandro Colomar
Linux man-pages comaintainer; https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/
http://www.alejandro-colomar.es/
```