mkpasswd(8)mkpasswd(8)NAMEmkpasswd - Creates a version of the basic user database organized for
efficient searches
SYNOPSIS
/usr/sbin/mkpasswd [-v] [-s size] passwdfile
OPTIONS
Specifies that each stored entry be listed on standard output Specifies
the page block size to use in creating the hashed password database.
The size argument is a value from 1 to 32, representing page block
sizes from 1024 to 32768, respectively. The default page block size is
1024.
DESCRIPTION
The mkpasswd command creates an auxiliary version of the basic user
database in a form organized for efficient searches by the getpwuid
subroutine and the getpwnam subroutine. The mkpasswd command reads the
user attributes in the /etc/passwd file and creates a hashed password
database in the /etc/passwd.dir and /etc/passwd.pag files (see ndbm(3)
reference page).
If you specify a file other than /etc/passwd, the command reads the
user attributes in that file and creates a hashed password database in
the passwdfile.dir and passwdfile.pag files. It is important to know
that the password file you designate must be in password file format
(see the passwd(4) reference page).
Note that if you use the vipw command to edit a password file, you do
not need to use the mkpasswd command. This is because the vipw command
automatically invokes the mkpasswd command which in turn creates the
/etc/passwd.dir and /etc/passwd.pag files.
Only the root user should have execute access to the mkpasswd command.
Files accessed: File /etc/passwd /etc/passwd.pag /etc/passwd.dir pass‐
wdfile passwdfile.pag passwdfile.dir
The mkpasswd command may fail with a errno value of EFBIG if the pass‐
word file is large (30,000 entries or more). This failure can be
avoided by using the -s option to set a larger page block size for the
hashed database.
RETURN VALUES
The mkpasswd command exits with a nonzero exit code if any errors are
detected.
ERRORS
If the mkpasswd request is not successful, the following error message
is displayed: The passwdfile.dir and passwdfile.pag files already exist
from a previous execution of the same mkpasswd command.
SECURITY NOTE
If enhanced security is running on your system, the passwords are
stored in the extended attributes database. See the Security guide for
more information about passwords in the enhanced security environment.
EXAMPLES
If you have not used vipw to edit the /etc/passwd and wish to generate
a hashed password database, enter the following: /usr/sbin/mkpasswd -v
/etc/passwd
An auxiliary version of the basic user database (/etc/passwd.dir and
/etc/passwd.pag files) is created with a hashing algorithm.
To create a hashed password database with a page block size of 8192,
enter the following: /usr/sbin/makepasswd -s 8 /etc/passwd
FILES
Specifies the command path
SEE ALSO
Commands: adduser(8), passwd(1), passwd(4), vipw(8)
Functions: getpwent(3), ndbm(3)
Manuals: Security
mkpasswd(8)
