chsh.1 (2010 09)
c
chsh(1) chsh(1)
NAME
chsh - change default login shell
SYNOPSIS
chsh login-name [shell ]
chsh -r files login-name [shell ]
chsh -r nis login-name [shell ]
chsh -r dce login-name [shell ]
DESCRIPTION
The
chsh command changes the login-shell for a user’s login name in the repository (see passwd (1)).
The DCE repository (
-r dce) is only available if Integrated Login has been configured; see
auth.adm (1M). If Integrated Login has been configured, other considerations apply. A user with
appropriate DCE privileges is capable of modifying a user’s shell; this is not dependent upon superuser
privileges.
If the repository is not specified (as in
chsh [login-name ]), the login shell is changed in the
/etc/passwd file only.
Run
finger after running chsh to make sure the information was processed correctly.
Notes
The
chsh command is a hard link to the passwd command. When chsh is executed, actually the
passwd command gets executed with appropriate arguments to change the user login shell in the reposi-
tory specified in command line. If no repository is specified, the login shell is changed in the
/etc/passwd file.
Arguments
login-name A login name of a user.
shell The absolute path name of a shell. If the file /etc/shells exists, the new login shell
must be listed in that file. Otherwise, you can specify one of the standard shells listed
in the getusershell (3C) manual entry. If shell is omitted, it defaults to the POSIX shell,
/usr/bin/sh.
Options
The following option is recognized:
-r Specify the repository to which the operation is to be applied. Supported repositories include
files, nis, and dce.
Security Restrictions
You must have appropriate privileges to use the optional login-name argument to change another user’s
login shell.
NETWORKING FEATURES
NFS
File
/etc/passwd can be implemented as a Network Information Service (NIS) database.
EXAMPLES
To change the login shell for user
voltaire to the default:
chsh voltaire
To change the login shell for user descartes to the C shell:
chsh descartes /usr/bin/csh
To change the login shell for user aristotle to the Korn shell in the DCE registry:
chsh -r dce aristotle /usr/bin/ksh
WARNINGS
If two or more users try to write the /etc/passwd file at the same time, a passwd locking mechanism
was devised. If this locking fails after subsequent retrying, chsh terminates.
HP-UX 11i Version 3: September 2010 − 1 − Hewlett-Packard Company 1