MKPASSWD(1)                                           MKPASSWD(1)

NAME
       mkpasswd - Update passwd and group database files

SYNOPSIS
       mkpasswd [-fvgps] file

DESCRIPTION
       mkpasswd  reads  the file in the format given by the flags
       and converts it to the corresponding database file format.
       These  database  files  are used to improve access perfor-
       mance on systems with large numbers of users.  The  output
       files will be named file.dir and file.pag.

       The  -f option causes mkpasswd to ignore any existing out-
       put files and overwrite them.  Normally mkpasswd complains
       about existing output files and quits.

       The  -v option causes mkpasswd to output information about
       each record as it is converted, with a  final  message  at
       the very end.

       The  -g  option treats the input file as though it were in
       /etc/group file format.  When combined with the -s option,
       the /etc/gshadow file format is used instead.

       The  -p  option treats the input file as though it were in
       /etc/passwd file format.  This is the default.  When  com-
       bined  with  the -s option, the /etc/shadow file format is
       used instead.

CAVEATS
       The use of more than one database file is limited to  sys-
       tems which include the NDBM database library and therefore
       may not be available on every system.

NOTE
       Since most commands are capable of updating  the  database
       files  as changes are made, this command need only be used
       when re-creating a deleted or corrupted database file.

FILES
       /etc/passwd - user account information
       /etc/shadow - shadow user information
       /etc/group - group information
       /etc/gshadow - shadow group information

SEE ALSO
       passwd(5), group(5), shadow(5)

AUTHOR
       Julianne Frances Haugh (jfh@tab.com)

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