UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hi All

Here is a the enty for my user on a UNIX from the /etc/passwd file, i want to know what each field denotes where can i get to know it?

kankipas:!:275:1:Swaraj Kankipati - Brea PTX Support:/home/kankipas:/usr/bin/ksh

If anyone could tell me that would be great

Thanks
Swaraj

It can be different - Darwin and OS X have ten fields for example.

To find what is on your system start with

Code:

man passwd

a colon separates the fields.

Hello

Thanks for the reply, i had gone through the manpage for the passwd command which is for changing passwords for a user, but i could not find much information as i am looking for, this is the only line which describes about the /etc/passwd file

/etc/passwd Contains user IDs, user names, home directories, login shell, and finger information.

But i want to know in order what each part denotes for an entry in the /etc/passwd file.

I am using AIX 5.1 Operating System.

Thanks
Swaraj

There is more than one passwd man page. On my OSX system, I can get to the file description page with "man 5 passwd". Try "man -k passwd", which will list the different man pages containing "passwd", along with the chapter number.

If "man 5 passwd" doesn't work (I think Sun systems have a different way of selecting the chapter, for example), try "man man" to find out how to specify the chapter.

Hope that helps...

as mentioned : seperates each field, so there are 7 fields...

kankipas = is your login name on system
! = stands for your password, it's encrypted, and contained in another file
275 = is your uid(user id) - if you type < id > on command line you'll get this same value as well.
1 = is your gid(primary group id)
Swaraj Kankipati - Brea PTX Support = is your full name on the system
/home/kankipas = is your home directory on the system
/usr/bin/ksh = is your login shell(the interactive program which runs when you login) - korn shell in this case...

I hope this helps

Thanks a lot Milhan, that was the perfect reply i was looking for

Swaraj