GETENT(1M)GETENT(1M)NAMEgetent - get entries from administrative database
SYNOPSISgetent database [key]...
DESCRIPTIONgetent gets a list of entries from the administrative database speci‐
fied by database. The information generally comes from one or more of
the sources that are specified for the database in /etc/nsswitch.conf.
database is the name of the database to be examined. This can be
passwd, shadow, group, hosts, ipnodes, services, protocols, ethers,
project, networks, or netmasks. For each of these databases, getent
uses the appropriate library routines described in getpwnam(3C), getsp‐
nam(3C), getgrnam(3C), gethostbyaddr(3NSL), gethostbyname(3NSL),
getipnodebyaddr(3SOCKET), getipnodebyname(3SOCKET), getservby‐
name(3SOCKET), getprotobyname(3SOCKET), ethers(3SOCKET), getprojby‐
name(3PROJECT) and getnetbyname(3SOCKET), respectively.
Each key must be in a format appropriate for searching on the respec‐
tive database. For example, it can be a username or numeric-uid for
passwd; hostname or IP address for hosts; or service, service/protocol,
port, or port/proto for services.
getent prints out the database entries that match each of the supplied
keys, one per line, in the format of the matching administrative file:
passwd(4), shadow(4), group(4), project(4), hosts(4), services(4), pro‐
tocols(4), ethers(3SOCKET), networks(4), or netmasks(4). If no key is
given, all entries returned by the corresponding enumeration library
routine, for example, getpwent() or gethostent(), are printed. Enumera‐
tion is not supported on ipnodes.
Key Interpretation for passwd and group Databases
When getent is invoked with database set to passwd, each key value is
processed as follows:
o If the key value consists only of numeric characters, getent
assumes that the key value is a numeric user ID and searches
the user database for a matching user ID.
o If the user ID is not found in the user database or if the
key value contains any non-numeric characters, getent
assumes the key value is a user name and searches the user
database for a matching user name.
Similarly, when getent is invoked with database set to group, each key
value is processed as follows:
o If the key value consists only of numeric characters, getent
assumes that the key value is a numeric group ID and
searches the group database for a matching group ID.
o If the group ID is not found in the group database or if the
key value contains any non-numeric characters, getent
assumes the key value is a group name and searches the group
database for a matching group name.
EXIT STATUS
The following exit values are returned:
0
Successful completion.
1
Command syntax was incorrect, an invalid option was used, or an
internal error occurred.
2
At least one of the specified entry names was not found in the
database.
3
There is no support for enumeration on this database.
FILES
/etc/nsswitch.conf
name service switch configuration file
/etc/passwd
password file
/etc/shadow
shadowed password file
/etc/group
group file
/etc/inet/hosts
IPv4 and IPv6 host name database
/etc/services
Internet services and aliases
/etc/project
project file
/etc/protocols
protocol name database
/etc/ethers
Ethernet address to hostname database or domain
/etc/networks
network name database
/etc/netmasks
network mask database
SEE ALSOethers(3SOCKET), getgrnam(3C), gethostbyaddr(3NSL), gethostby‐
name(3NSL), gethostent(3NSL), getipnodebyaddr(3SOCKET), getipnodeby‐
name(3SOCKET), getnetbyname(3SOCKET), getprojbyname(3PROJECT), getpro‐
tobyname(3SOCKET), getpwnam(3C), getservbyname(3SOCKET), group(4),
hosts(4), netmasks(4), networks(4), nsswitch.conf(4), passwd(4),
project(4), protocols(4), services(4), attributes(5)
Mar 14, 2014 GETENT(1M)
