HP-UX Reference (11i v2 07/12) - 1 User Commands A-M (vol 1)

c
chsh(1) chsh(1)
NAME
chsh - change default login shell
SYNOPSIS
chsh login-name [shell]
chsh -r files login-name [shell]
chsh -r nisplus 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; i.e.,
chsh [login-name], the login shell is changed in passwd file only.
Run finger after running chsh to make sure the information was processed correctly.
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, nisplus, and dce.
Security Restrictions
You must have appropriate privileges to use the optional login-name argument to change another user’s
login shell.
Notes
The chsh command is a hard link to passwd command. When chsh is executed, actually the passwd
command gets executed with appropriate arguments to change the user login shell in the repository
specified in command line. If no repository is specified, the login shell is changed in the
/etc/passwd
file.
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
As many users may try to write the /etc/passwd file simultaneously, a passwd locking mechanism was
deviced. If this locking fails after subsequent retrying, chsh terminates.
HP-UX 11i Version 2: December 2007 Update − 1 − Hewlett-Packard Company 153