pwd_mkdb man page on OpenBSD

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PWD_MKDB(8)		OpenBSD System Manager's Manual		   PWD_MKDB(8)

NAME
     pwd_mkdb - generate the password databases

SYNOPSIS
     pwd_mkdb [-c] [-p | -s] [-d directory] [-u username] file

DESCRIPTION
     pwd_mkdb 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 argument is installed into
     /etc/master.passwd by renaming file.  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 6th Edition-style format.

     The options are as follows:

     -c	     Check if the password file is in the correct format.  Do not
	     change, add, or remove any files.

     -d directory
	     Operate in a base directory other than the default of /etc.  All
	     absolute paths (including file) will be made relative to
	     directory.	 Any directories specified as a part of file will be
	     stripped off.  This option is used to create password databases
	     in directories other than /etc; for instance in a chroot(8) jail.

     -p	     Create a 6th Edition-style password file and install it into
	     /etc/passwd.

     -s	     Only update the secure version of the database.  This is most
	     commonly used in conjunction with the -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 username
	     Only update the record for the specified user.  Utilities that
	     operate on a single user can use this option to avoid the
	     overhead of rebuilding the entire database.  This option must
	     never be used if the line number of the user's record in
	     /etc/master.passwd has changed.

     file    The absolute path to a file in master.passwd format, as described
	     in passwd(5).

     The 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)).

     pwd_mkdb exits zero on success, non-zero on failure.

FILES
     /etc/master.passwd	 current password file
     /etc/passwd	 a 6th Edition-style password file
     /etc/pwd.db	 insecure password database file
     /etc/pwd.db.tmp	 temporary file
     /etc/spwd.db	 secure password database file
     /etc/spwd.db.tmp	 temporary file

SEE ALSO
     chpass(1), passwd(1), db(3), getpwent(3), passwd(5), vipw(8)

STANDARDS
     Previous versions of the system had a program similar to pwd_mkdb,
     mkpasswd, 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.

BUGS
     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.

OpenBSD 4.9			 May 31, 2007			   OpenBSD 4.9
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