/etc/passwd

• /etc/passwd is the password file for Linux and UNIX like operating systems. /etc/passwd contains one line for each user account, with seven fields delimited by colons (":"). You can view this file with cat command:

cat /etc/passwd

Sample outputs:

root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/bin/sh
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/bin/sh
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/bin/sh
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/bin/sh
dnsproxy:x:133:140::/home/dnsproxy:/bin/false
sshproxy:x:134:141::/var/lib/sshproxy:/bin/false
ntp:x:135:142::/home/ntp:/bin/false
vivek:x:1000:1000:Vivek Gite,,,,:/home/vivek:/bin/bash
t2:x:1002:1001::/home/t2:/bin/bash

These fields are:

1. Login name
2. Optional encrypted password. It is now stored in /etc/shadow file.
3. Numerical user ID
4. Numerical group ID
5. User name or comment field
6. User home directory
7. Optional user command interpreter

External Links

• Understanding /etc/passwd File Format
• Understanding /etc/shadow file