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hcitool

bluetooth Host Controller Interface tool for monitoring, configuring

TLDR

List the local Bluetooth adapters
$ hcitool dev
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Discover nearby devices
$ hcitool scan
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Inquire, showing device class and clock offset as well
$ hcitool inq
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Scan for Bluetooth Low Energy devices
$ hcitool lescan
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Read the friendly name of a remote device
$ hcitool name [00:11:22:33:44:55]
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Dump a remote device's features and firmware version
$ hcitool info [00:11:22:33:44:55]
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Show the adapter's active connections
$ hcitool con
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Read the signal strength of a connection
$ hcitool rssi [00:11:22:33:44:55]
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Check the link quality of a connection
$ hcitool lq [00:11:22:33:44:55]
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Work with a specific adapter when more than one is present
$ hcitool -i [hci0] scan
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SYNOPSIS

hcitool [options] command [command-parameters]

DESCRIPTION

hcitool is a Bluetooth Host Controller Interface tool for monitoring, configuring connections, and sending commands to Bluetooth devices. It provides low-level access to Bluetooth functionality for diagnostics and advanced configuration.The tool can discover nearby devices, query device information, manage connections, and configure link parameters. It operates at the HCI layer, below the higher-level profiles like A2DP or HFP.

PARAMETERS

-i hciX

Use the specified HCI device instead of the first available one.
scan
Scan for discoverable Bluetooth devices
lescan
Scan for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices
dev
List local Bluetooth adapters
name bdaddr
Get remote device name
info bdaddr
Get remote device information
lq bdaddr
Get link quality
tpl bdaddr type
Get/set transmit power level
lp
Display link policy
auth bdaddr
Request authentication
con
Display active connections
cc bdaddr
Create connection
dc bdaddr
Disconnect

INSTALL

sudo apt install bluez
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sudo dnf install bluez
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sudo pacman -S bluez
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sudo apk add bluez-deprecated
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sudo zypper install bluez
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brew install bluez
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nix profile install nixpkgs#bluez
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CAVEATS

Deprecated in favor of bluetoothctl in modern BlueZ versions. May require root privileges for some operations. Some features depend on Bluetooth adapter capabilities.

HISTORY

hcitool is part of the BlueZ Bluetooth protocol stack for Linux. While functional, it's considered legacy and bluetoothctl from BlueZ 5 is recommended for most operations on modern systems.

SEE ALSO

bluetoothctl(1), hciconfig(1), rfkill(8)

RESOURCES

Source code

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