man(1) Manual page archive


     PASSWD(5)                                               PASSWD(5)

     NAME
          passwd, group - password and group files

     DESCRIPTION
          The file has one line for each user with the following
          information:

               name (login name, contains no upper case)
               encrypted password
               numerical user ID
               numerical group ID
               comp center account number, box number, optional user-id
               initial working directory
               program to use as shell

          Fields are separated by colons.  The comp center field is
          used only when communicating with certain systems, and in
          other installations can contain any desired information.  If
          the password field is null, no password is demanded; if the
          shell field is null, is used.

          The file defines the membership of users in permission
          groups.  It contains one line for each group with the
          following colon-separated fields:

               group name
               encrypted password
               numerical group ID
               comma-separated list of all users allowed in the group

          Each group is separated from the next by a new-line.  If the
          password field is null, newgrp(1) will not demand a pass-
          word.

          Because the passwords are encrypted, these files can and do
          have general read permission and can be used, for example,
          to map numerical ids to names.

     FILES
     SEE ALSO
          newgrp(1), getpwent(3), login(8), crypt(3), passwd(1)

     BUGS
          Passwd(1) won't change passwords in the group file.