freebsd/usr.sbin/vipw/vipw.8

.\" Copyright (c) 1983, 1991, 1993
.\"	The Regents of the University of California.  All rights reserved.
.\"
.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
.\" are met:
.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
.\"    documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
.\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
.\"    may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
.\"    without specific prior written permission.
.\"
.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
.\" ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
.\" SUCH DAMAGE.
.\"
.\"     @(#)vipw.8	8.1 (Berkeley) 6/6/93
.\" $FreeBSD$
.\"
.Dd June 6, 1993
.Dt VIPW 8
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm vipw
.Nd edit the password file
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm
.Op Fl d Ar directory
.Sh DESCRIPTION
The
.Nm
utility edits the password file after setting the appropriate locks,
and does any necessary processing after the password file is unlocked.
If the password file is already locked for editing by another user,
.Nm
will ask you
to try again later.
The default editor for
.Nm
is
.Xr vi 1 .
.Pp
When run without options,
.Nm
will work with the password files in
.Pa /etc .
The
.Fl d
option may be used to specify an alternative
.Ar directory
to work with.
.Pp
The
.Nm
utility performs a number of consistency checks on the password entries,
and will not allow a password file with a
.Dq mangled
entry to be
installed.
If
.Nm
rejects the new password file, the user is prompted to re-enter
the edit session.
.Pp
Once the information has been verified,
.Nm
uses
.Xr pwd_mkdb 8
to update the user database.
This is run in the background, and,
at very large sites could take several minutes.
Until this update
is completed, the password file is unavailable for other updates
and the new information is not available to programs.
.Sh ENVIRONMENT
If the following environment variable exists it will be utilized by
.Nm :
.Bl -tag -width PW_SCAN_BIG_IDS
.It Ev EDITOR
The editor specified by the string
.Ev EDITOR
will be invoked instead of the default editor
.Xr vi 1 .
This can be used to allow a script to non-interactively modify the
password file.
.It Ev PW_SCAN_BIG_IDS
See
.Xr pwd_mkdb 8 .
.El
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr chpass 1 ,
.Xr passwd 1 ,
.Xr passwd 5 ,
.Xr adduser 8 ,
.Xr pw 8 ,
.Xr pwd_mkdb 8
.Sh HISTORY
The
.Nm
utility appeared in
.Bx 4.0 .
.Sh BUGS
The mechanism for checking for password file modifications requires that
.Ev EDITOR
run for at least one second.
Non-interactive editor scripts should invoke
.Xr sleep 1
or equivalent to ensure this happens.
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`.\" Copyright (c) 1983, 1991, 1993`
			`.\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.`
			`.\"`
			`.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without`
			`.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions`
			`.\" are met:`
			`.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright`
			`.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.`
			`.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright`
			`.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the`
			`.\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.`
			`.\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors`
			`.\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software`
			`.\" without specific prior written permission.`
			`.\"`
			.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
			`.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE`
			`.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE`
			`.\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE`
			`.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL`
			`.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS`
			`.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)`
			`.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT`
			`.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY`
			`.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF`
			`.\" SUCH DAMAGE.`
			`.\"`
			`.\" @(#)vipw.8 8.1 (Berkeley) 6/6/93`
$Id$ -> $FreeBSD$ 1999-08-28 01:35:59 +00:00			`.\" $FreeBSD$`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`.\"`
			`.Dd June 6, 1993`
			`.Dt VIPW 8`
mdoc(7) police: removed HISTORY info from the .Os call. 2001-07-10 15:12:08 +00:00			`.Os`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`.Sh NAME`
			`.Nm vipw`
			`.Nd edit the password file`
			`.Sh SYNOPSIS`
mdoc(7) police: use the new features of the Nm macro. 2000-11-20 20:10:44 +00:00			`.Nm`
Add -d option to vipw(8) to allow selection of an alternative directory for the password files. PR: 2703 Submitted by: jmg 1999-06-26 07:16:42 +00:00			`.Op Fl d Ar directory`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`.Sh DESCRIPTION`
The .Nm utility 2002-07-14 14:47:15 +00:00			`The`
			`.Nm`
			`utility edits the password file after setting the appropriate locks,`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`and does any necessary processing after the password file is unlocked.`
			`If the password file is already locked for editing by another user,`
Statisize usage(). 1997-10-27 07:53:22 +00:00			`.Nm`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`will ask you`
Remove single-space hard sentence breaks. These degrade the quality of the typeset output, tend to make diffs harder to read and provide bad examples for new-comers to mdoc. 2000-03-01 14:09:25 +00:00			`to try again later.`
			`The default editor for`
Statisize usage(). 1997-10-27 07:53:22 +00:00			`.Nm`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`is`
			`.Xr vi 1 .`
			`.Pp`
Remove whitespace at EOL. 2001-07-15 08:06:20 +00:00			`When run without options,`
mdoc(7) police: use the new features of the Nm macro. 2000-11-20 20:10:44 +00:00			`.Nm`
Add -d option to vipw(8) to allow selection of an alternative directory for the password files. PR: 2703 Submitted by: jmg 1999-06-26 07:16:42 +00:00			`will work with the password files in`
			`.Pa /etc .`
Remove whitespace at EOL. 2001-07-15 08:06:20 +00:00			`The`
Add -d option to vipw(8) to allow selection of an alternative directory for the password files. PR: 2703 Submitted by: jmg 1999-06-26 07:16:42 +00:00			`.Fl d`
			`option may be used to specify an alternative`
			`.Ar directory`
			`to work with.`
			`.Pp`
The .Nm utility 2002-07-14 14:47:15 +00:00			`The`
			`.Nm`
			`utility performs a number of consistency checks on the password entries,`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`and will not allow a password file with a`
			`.Dq mangled`
			`entry to be`
			`installed.`
			`If`
Statisize usage(). 1997-10-27 07:53:22 +00:00			`.Nm`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`rejects the new password file, the user is prompted to re-enter`
			`the edit session.`
			`.Pp`
			`Once the information has been verified,`
Statisize usage(). 1997-10-27 07:53:22 +00:00			`.Nm`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`uses`
			`.Xr pwd_mkdb 8`
Mechanically kill hard sentence breaks. 2004-07-02 23:13:00 +00:00			`to update the user database.`
			`This is run in the background, and,`
			`at very large sites could take several minutes.`
			`Until this update`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`is completed, the password file is unavailable for other updates`
			`and the new information is not available to programs.`
			`.Sh ENVIRONMENT`
			`If the following environment variable exists it will be utilized by`
mdoc(7) police: use the new features of the Nm macro. 2000-11-20 20:10:44 +00:00			`.Nm :`
Replace the -q option to pwd_mkdb with a test for PW_SCAN_BIG_IDS in the environment. This allows big ID warnings to be suppressed for vipw and chpass as well. Since the environment variable test is only performed for callers of pw_scan() that do not set pw_big_ids_warning, the test can still be overriden. Currently, chpass and pwd_mkdb are the only users of pw_scan() and neither of them overrides the environment variable test. 1999-12-02 16:39:15 +00:00			`.Bl -tag -width PW_SCAN_BIG_IDS`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`.It Ev EDITOR`
			`The editor specified by the string`
			`.Ev EDITOR`
			`will be invoked instead of the default editor`
			`.Xr vi 1 .`
Mention the possibility of non-interactive scripts for EDITOR and add a BUGS section mentioning the requirement that such scripts run "sleep 1" or equivalent to work reliably. 2005-10-20 19:23:16 +00:00			`This can be used to allow a script to non-interactively modify the`
			`password file.`
Replace the -q option to pwd_mkdb with a test for PW_SCAN_BIG_IDS in the environment. This allows big ID warnings to be suppressed for vipw and chpass as well. Since the environment variable test is only performed for callers of pw_scan() that do not set pw_big_ids_warning, the test can still be overriden. Currently, chpass and pwd_mkdb are the only users of pw_scan() and neither of them overrides the environment variable test. 1999-12-02 16:39:15 +00:00			`.It Ev PW_SCAN_BIG_IDS`
			`See`
			`.Xr pwd_mkdb 8 .`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`.El`
			`.Sh SEE ALSO`
			`.Xr chpass 1 ,`
			`.Xr passwd 1 ,`
			`.Xr passwd 5 ,`
			`.Xr adduser 8 ,`
Cross-reference pw(8) into chpass(1), passwd(1), and vipw(8). 2005-08-02 21:38:03 +00:00			`.Xr pw 8 ,`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`.Xr pwd_mkdb 8`
			`.Sh HISTORY`
			`The`
			`.Nm`
The .Nm utility 2002-07-14 14:47:15 +00:00			`utility appeared in`
BSD 4.4 Lite usr.sbin Sources 1994-05-26 05:23:31 +00:00			`.Bx 4.0 .`
Mention the possibility of non-interactive scripts for EDITOR and add a BUGS section mentioning the requirement that such scripts run "sleep 1" or equivalent to work reliably. 2005-10-20 19:23:16 +00:00			`.Sh BUGS`
			`The mechanism for checking for password file modifications requires that`
			`.Ev EDITOR`
			`run for at least one second.`
			`Non-interactive editor scripts should invoke`
			`.Xr sleep 1`
s/insure/ensure/ in previous commit. My dictionary and m-w.com say they are synonymous, but ensure seems slightly closer and does not have the connotation of buying insurance. Reported by: Jason McIntyre <jmc at kerhand dot co dot uk> 2005-10-28 22:47:40 +00:00			`or equivalent to ensure this happens.`