PWD_MKDB(8) | System Manager's Manual | PWD_MKDB(8) |
pwd_mkdb
—
generate the password databases
pwd_mkdb |
[-c ] [-p |
-s ] [-d
directory] [-u
username] file |
The pwd_mkdb
utility creates
db(3) style secure and insecure databases
for the specified file. These databases are then installed into
/etc/spwd.db and /etc/pwd.db
respectively. The file is installed into
/etc/master.passwd. The file must be in the correct
format (see passwd(5)). It is important
to note that the format used in this system is different from the historic
Version 7 style format.
The options are as follows:
-c
-d
directory-p
-s
-u
flag during a password
change. Because the insecure database doesn't contain the password there
is no reason to update it if the only change is in the password field.
Cannot be used in conjunction with the -p
flag.-u
usernameThe two databases differ in that the secure version contains the user's encrypted password and the insecure version has an asterisk (``*'')
The databases are used by the C library password routines (see getpwent(3)).
The pwd_mkdb
utility exits zero on
success, non-zero on failure.
Previous versions of the system had a program similar to
pwd_mkdb
,
mkpasswd(8), which built
dbm(3) style databases for the password
file but depended on the calling programs to install them. The program was
renamed in order that previous users of the program not be surprised by the
changes in functionality.
chpass(1), passwd(1), db(3), getpwent(3), passwd(5), vipw(8)
Because of the necessity for atomic update of the password files,
pwd_mkdb
uses
rename(2) to install them. This,
however, requires that the file specified on the command line live on the
same file system as the /etc directory.
There are the obvious races with multiple people running
pwd_mkdb
on different password files at the same
time. The front-ends to pwd_mkdb
,
chpass(1),
passwd(1) and
vipw(8), handle the locking necessary to
avoid this problem.
June 6, 1993 | macOS 14.6 |