Editing IBM AIX (section)

===System Management Interface Tool===
{{Main|System Management Interface Tool}}
[[File:Screenshot of IBM AIX SMIT Initial Menu.png|thumb|The initial menu, when running in text mode]]
[[IBM AIX SMIT|SMIT]] is the System Management Interface Tool for AIX. It allows a user to navigate a menu hierarchy of commands, rather than using the command line. Invocation is typically achieved with the command <code>smit</code>. Experienced system administrators make use of the <code>F6</code> function key which generates the command line that SMIT will invoke to complete it.
SMIT also generates a log of commands that are performed in the <code>smit.script</code> file. The <code>smit.script</code> file automatically records the commands with the command flags and parameters used. The <code>smit.script</code> file can be used as an executable shell script to rerun system configuration tasks. SMIT also creates the <code>smit.log</code> file, which contains additional detailed information that can be used by programmers in extending the SMIT system.

<code>smit</code> and <code>smitty</code> refer to the same program, though <code>smitty</code> invokes the text-based version, while <code>smit</code> will invoke an X Window System based interface if possible; however, if <code>smit</code> determines that X Window System capabilities are not present, it will present the text-based version instead of failing.  Determination of X Window System capabilities is typically performed by checking for the existence of the <code>DISPLAY</code> variable.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}