# jails: Proper use of <jid> and <name>



## Snurg (Dec 10, 2017)

Jails offer two descriptional fields, <jid> and <name>.

Actually they seem to be "named" by using the jid.
(for example `service jail start <jid>`)

Thus I ask, can the <name> field be interpreted as a clear-text description field, like a short explanation of the jail?


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## chrbr (Dec 10, 2017)

Yes, `service jail start NameOfTheJail` works. The name is what is specified in /etc/jail.conf outside of the curly braces. See jail.conf(5) for reference regarding the name.


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## scottro (Dec 10, 2017)

Note that the JID can change.  It might be JID 1 then if you restart it, become JID 2 and so on.


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