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LDIF(5)			      File Formats Manual		       LDIF(5)

NAME
       ldif - LDAP Data	Interchange Format

DESCRIPTION
       The  LDAP  Data Interchange Format (LDIF) is used to represent LDAP en-
       tries and change	records	in text	form. LDAP tools, such	as  ldapadd(1)
       and  ldapsearch(1),  read  and write LDIF entry records.	 ldapmodify(1)
       reads LDIF change records.

       This manual page	provides a basic description of	LDIF.  A formal	speci-
       fication	of LDIF	is published in	RFC 2849.

ENTRY RECORDS
       LDIF  entry records are used to represent directory entries.  The basic
       form of an entry	record is:

	    dn:	<distinguished name>
	    <attrdesc>:	<attrvalue>
	    <attrdesc>:	<attrvalue>
	    <attrdesc>:: <base64-encoded-value>
	    <attrdesc>:< <URL>
	    ...

       The value may be	specified as UTF-8 text	or as base64 encoded data,  or
       a URI may be provided to	the location of	the attribute value.

       A  line	may be continued by starting the next line with	a single space
       or tab, e.g.,

	    dn:	cn=Barbara J Jensen,dc=exam
	     ple,dc=com

       Lines beginning with a sharp sign ('#') are ignored.

       Multiple	attribute values are specified on separate lines, e.g.,

	    cn:	Barbara	J Jensen
	    cn:	Babs Jensen

       If an value contains a non-printing character, or begins	with  a	 space
       or  a  colon  ':', the <attrtype> is followed by	a double colon and the
       value is	encoded	in base	64 notation. e.g., the value " begins  with  a
       space" would be encoded like this:

	    cn:: IGJlZ2lucyB3aXRoIGEgc3BhY2U=

       If the attribute	value is located in a file, the	<attrtype> is followed
       by a ':<' and a file: URI.  e.g.,  the  value  contained	 in  the  file
       /tmp/value would	be listed like this:

	    cn:< file:///tmp/value
       Other URI schemes (ftp,http) may	be supported as	well.

       Multiple	 entries  within  the  same  LDIF  file	are separated by blank
       lines.

ENTRY RECORD EXAMPLE
       Here is an example of an	LDIF file containing three entries.

	    dn:	cn=Barbara J Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
	    cn:	Barbara	J Jensen
	    cn:	Babs Jensen
	    objectclass: person
	    description:< file:///tmp/babs
	    sn:	Jensen

	    dn:	cn=Bjorn J Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
	    cn:	Bjorn J	Jensen
	    cn:	Bjorn Jensen
	    objectclass: person
	    sn:	Jensen

	    dn:	cn=Jennifer J Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
	    cn:	Jennifer J Jensen
	    cn:	Jennifer Jensen
	    objectclass: person
	    sn:	Jensen
	    jpegPhoto::	/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAAAAAQABAAD/2wBDABALD
	     A4MChAODQ4SERATGCgaGBYWGDEjJR0oOjM9PDkzODdASFxOQ
	     ERXRTc4UG1RV19iZ2hnPk1xeXBkeFxlZ2P/2wBDARESEhgVG
	    ...

       Note that the description  in  Barbara  Jensen's	 entry	is  read  from
       file:///tmp/babs	 and  the  jpegPhoto in	Jennifer Jensen's entry	is en-
       coded using base	64.

CHANGE RECORDS
       LDIF change records are used to represent  directory  change  requests.
       Each  change  record starts with	line indicating	the distinguished name
       of the entry being changed:

	    dn:	<distinguishedname>

	    changetype:	<[modify|add|delete|modrdn]>

       Finally,	the change information itself is given,	the  format  of	 which
       depends	on  what kind of change	was specified above.  For a changetype
       of modify, the format is	one or more of the following:

	    add: <attributetype>
	    <attrdesc>:	<value1>
	    <attrdesc>:	<value2>
	    ...
	    -

       Or, for a replace modification:

	    replace: <attributetype>
	    <attrdesc>:	<value1>
	    <attrdesc>:	<value2>
	    ...
	    -

       If no attributetype lines are given to replace, the entire attribute is
       to be deleted (if present).

       Or, for a delete	modification:

	    delete: <attributetype>
	    <attrdesc>:	<value1>
	    <attrdesc>:	<value2>
	    ...
	    -

       If  no attributetype lines are given to delete, the entire attribute is
       to be deleted.

       For a changetype	of add,	the format is:

	    <attrdesc1>: <value1>
	    <attrdesc1>: <value2>
	    ...
	    <attrdescN>: <value1>
	    <attrdescN>: <value2>

       For a changetype	of modrdn or moddn, the	format is:

	    newrdn: <newrdn>
	    deleteoldrdn: 0 | 1
	    newsuperior: <DN>

       where a value of	1 for deleteoldrdn means to delete the values  forming
       the  old	rdn from the entry, and	a value	of 0 means to leave the	values
       as non-distinguished attributes in the entry.  The newsuperior line  is
       optional	 and, if present, specifies the	new superior to	move the entry
       to.

       For a changetype	of delete, no additional information is	needed in  the
       record.

       Note that attribute values may be presented using base64	or in files as
       described for entry records.  Lines in change records may be  continued
       in the manner described for entry records as well.

CHANGE RECORD EXAMPLE
       The following sample LDIF file contains a change	record of each type of
       change.

	    dn:	cn=Babs	Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
	    changetype:	add
	    objectclass: person
	    objectclass: extensibleObject
	    cn:	babs
	    cn:	babs jensen
	    sn:	jensen

	    dn:	cn=Babs	Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
	    changetype:	modify
	    add: givenName
	    givenName: Barbara
	    givenName: babs
	    -
	    replace: description
	    description: the fabulous babs
	    -
	    delete: sn
	    sn:	jensen
	    -

	    dn:	cn=Babs	Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
	    changetype:	modrdn
	    newrdn: cn=Barbara J Jensen
	    deleteoldrdn: 0
	    newsuperior: ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

	    dn:	cn=Barbara J Jensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
	    changetype:	delete

INCLUDE	STATEMENT
       The LDIF	parser has been	extended to support an include	statement  for
       referencing  other LDIF files.  The include statement must be separated
       from other records by a blank line.  The	referenced file	 is  specified
       using  a	 file: URI and all of its contents are incorporated as if they
       were part of the	original LDIF file. As above, other URI	schemes	may be
       supported. For example:

	    dn:	dc=example,dc=com
	    objectclass: domain
	    dc:	example

	    include: file:///tmp/example.com.ldif

	    dn:	dc=example,dc=org
	    objectclass: domain
	    dc:	example
       This  feature  is not part of the LDIF specification in RFC 2849	but is
       expected	to appear in a future revision of this spec. It	 is  supported
       by the ldapadd(1), ldapmodify(1), and slapadd(8)	commands.

SEE ALSO
       ldap(3),	 ldapsearch(1),	 ldapadd(1),  ldapmodify(1), slapadd(8), slap-
       cat(8), slapd-ldif(5).

       "LDAP Data Interchange Format," Good, G., RFC 2849.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
       OpenLDAP	Software is developed and maintained by	The  OpenLDAP  Project
       <http://www.openldap.org/>.  OpenLDAP Software is derived from the Uni-
       versity of Michigan LDAP	3.3 Release.

OpenLDAP 2.6.3			  2022/07/14			       LDIF(5)

NAME | DESCRIPTION | ENTRY RECORDS | ENTRY RECORD EXAMPLE | CHANGE RECORDS | CHANGE RECORD EXAMPLE | INCLUDE STATEMENT | SEE ALSO | ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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