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VIPW(8)			  BSD System Manager's Manual		       VIPW(8)

NAME
     vipw -- edit the password file

SYNOPSIS
     vipw [-d directory]

DESCRIPTION
     Vipw edits	the password file after	setting	the appropriate	locks, and
     does any necessary	processing after the password file is unlocked.	 If
     the password file is already locked for editing by	another	user, vipw
     will ask you to try again later.  The default editor for vipw is vi(1).

     When run without options, vipw will work with the password	files in /etc.
     The -d option may be used to specify an alternative directory to work
     with.

     Vipw performs a number of consistency checks on the password entries, and
     will not allow a password file with a "mangled" entry to be installed.
     If	vipw rejects the new password file, the	user is	prompted to re-enter
     the edit session.

     Once the information has been verified, vipw uses pwd_mkdb(8) to update
     the user database.	 This is run in	the background,	and, at	very large
     sites could take several minutes.	Until this update is completed,	the
     password file is unavailable for other updates and	the new	information is
     not available to programs.

ENVIRONMENT
     If	the following environment variable exists it will be utilized by vipw:

     EDITOR	      The editor specified by the string EDITOR	will be	in-
		      voked instead of the default editor vi(1).

     PW_SCAN_BIG_IDS  See pwd_mkdb(8).

SEE ALSO
     chpass(1),	passwd(1), passwd(5), adduser(8), pwd_mkdb(8)

HISTORY
     The vipw command appeared in 4.0BSD.

BSD				 June 6, 1993				   BSD

NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | ENVIRONMENT | SEE ALSO | HISTORY

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