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from: @(#)pwd_mkdb.8 8.2 (Berkeley) 4/27/95
.Dd April 27, 1995 .Dt PWD_MKDB 8 .Os .Sh NAME .Nm pwd_mkdb .Nd "generate the password databases" .Sh SYNOPSIS .Nm .Op Fl BLps .Op Fl d Ar directory .Op Fl u Ar username .Ar file .Sh DESCRIPTION .Nm creates .Xr db 3 style secure and insecure databases for the specified file. These databases are then installed into .Dq Pa /etc/spwd.db and .Dq Pa /etc/pwd.db respectively. The file is installed into .Dq Pa /etc/master.passwd . The file must be in the correct format (see .Xr passwd 5 ) . It is important to note that the format used in this system is different from the historic Version 7 style format.
p The options are as follows: l -tag -width flag t Fl B Store data in big-endian format. t Fl L Store data in little-endian format. t Fl d Ar directory Change the root directory of the generated files from .Dq Pa / to .Ar directory . t Fl p Create a Version 7 style password file and install it into .Dq Pa /etc/passwd . t Fl s Update the secure database only. This is useful when only encrypted passwords have changed. This option negates the effect of any .Fl p option. t Fl u Ar name Don't re-build the database files, but instead modify or add entries for the specified user only. This option may only be used when the line number and user name in the password file have not changed, or when adding a new user from the last line in the password file. .El
p The two databases differ in that the secure version contains the user's encrypted password and the insecure version has an asterisk (``*'').
p The databases are used by the C library password routines (see .Xr getpwent 3 ) .
p .Nm exits zero on success, non-zero on failure. .Sh FILES l -tag -width Pa -compact t Pa /etc/master.passwd The current password file. t Pa /etc/passwd A Version 7 format password file. t Pa /etc/pwd.db The insecure password database file. t Pa /etc/pwd.db.tmp A temporary file. t Pa /etc/spwd.db The secure password database file. t Pa /etc/spwd.db.tmp A temporary file. .El .Sh BUGS Because of the necessity for atomic update of the password files, .Nm uses .Xr rename 2 to install them. This, however, requires that the file specified on the command line live on the same file system as the .Dq Pa /etc directory.
p There are the obvious races with multiple people running .Nm on different password files at the same time. The front-ends to .Xr chpass 1 , .Xr passwd 1 , .Xr useradd 8 , .Xr userdel 8 , .Xr usermod 8 , and .Xr vipw 8 handle the locking necessary to avoid this problem.
p The database files are copied when the .Fl u option is used. Real locking would make this unnecessary.
p Although the DB format is endian-transparent, the data stored in the DB is not. Also, the format doesn't lend itself to insertion or removal of records from arbitrary locations in the password file. This is difficult to fix without breaking compatibility.
p Using the .Fl u option on a system where multiple users share the same UID can have unexpected results. .Sh COMPATIBILITY Previous versions of the system had a program similar to .Nm which built .Em dbm 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. .Sh SEE ALSO .Xr chpass 1 , .Xr passwd 1 , .Xr db 3 , .Xr getpwent 3 , .Xr pw_mkdb 3 , .Xr passwd 5 , .Xr useradd 8 , .Xr userdel 8 , .Xr usermod 8 , .Xr vipw 8
Indexes created Wed Oct 29 20:09:47 GMT 2025