'\" t
.\"     Title: chage
.\"    Author: Julianne Frances Haugh
.\" Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets v1.76.1 <http://docbook.sf.net/>
.\"      Date: 05/25/2012
.\"    Manual: User Commands
.\"    Source: shadow-utils 4.1.5.1
.\"  Language: English
.\"
.TH "CHAGE" "1" "05/25/2012" "shadow\-utils 4\&.1\&.5\&.1" "User Commands"
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.SH "NAME"
chage \- change user password expiry information
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.HP \w'\fBchage\fR\ 'u
\fBchage\fR [\fIoptions\fR] \fILOGIN\fR
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.PP
The
\fBchage\fR
command changes the number of days between password changes and the date of the last password change\&. This information is used by the system to determine when a user must change his/her password\&.
.SH "OPTIONS"
.PP
The options which apply to the
\fBchage\fR
command are:
.PP
\fB\-d\fR, \fB\-\-lastday\fR \fILAST_DAY\fR
.RS 4
Set the number of days since January 1st, 1970 when the password was last changed\&. The date may also be expressed in the format YYYY\-MM\-DD (or the format more commonly used in your area)\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-E\fR, \fB\-\-expiredate\fR \fIEXPIRE_DATE\fR
.RS 4
Set the date or number of days since January 1, 1970 on which the user\*(Aqs account will no longer be accessible\&. The date may also be expressed in the format YYYY\-MM\-DD (or the format more commonly used in your area)\&. A user whose account is locked must contact the system administrator before being able to use the system again\&.
.sp
Passing the number
\fI\-1\fR
as the
\fIEXPIRE_DATE\fR
will remove an account expiration date\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-h\fR, \fB\-\-help\fR
.RS 4
Display help message and exit\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-I\fR, \fB\-\-inactive\fR \fIINACTIVE\fR
.RS 4
Set the number of days of inactivity after a password has expired before the account is locked\&. The
\fIINACTIVE\fR
option is the number of days of inactivity\&. A user whose account is locked must contact the system administrator before being able to use the system again\&.
.sp
Passing the number
\fI\-1\fR
as the
\fIINACTIVE\fR
will remove an account\*(Aqs inactivity\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-l\fR, \fB\-\-list\fR
.RS 4
Show account aging information\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-m\fR, \fB\-\-mindays\fR \fIMIN_DAYS\fR
.RS 4
Set the minimum number of days between password changes to
\fIMIN_DAYS\fR\&. A value of zero for this field indicates that the user may change his/her password at any time\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-M\fR, \fB\-\-maxdays\fR \fIMAX_DAYS\fR
.RS 4
Set the maximum number of days during which a password is valid\&. When
\fIMAX_DAYS\fR
plus
\fILAST_DAY\fR
is less than the current day, the user will be required to change his/her password before being able to use his/her account\&. This occurrence can be planned for in advance by use of the
\fB\-W\fR
option, which provides the user with advance warning\&.
.sp
Passing the number
\fI\-1\fR
as
\fIMAX_DAYS\fR
will remove checking a password\*(Aqs validity\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-R\fR, \fB\-\-root\fR \fICHROOT_DIR\fR
.RS 4
Apply changes in the
\fICHROOT_DIR\fR
directory and use the configuration files from the
\fICHROOT_DIR\fR
directory\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-W\fR, \fB\-\-warndays\fR \fIWARN_DAYS\fR
.RS 4
Set the number of days of warning before a password change is required\&. The
\fIWARN_DAYS\fR
option is the number of days prior to the password expiring that a user will be warned his/her password is about to expire\&.
.RE
.PP
If none of the options are selected,
\fBchage\fR
operates in an interactive fashion, prompting the user with the current values for all of the fields\&. Enter the new value to change the field, or leave the line blank to use the current value\&. The current value is displayed between a pair of
\fI[ ]\fR
marks\&.
.SH "NOTE"
.PP
The
\fBchage\fR
program requires a shadow password file to be available\&.
.PP
The
\fBchage\fR
command is restricted to the root user, except for the
\fB\-l\fR
option, which may be used by an unprivileged user to determine when his/her password or account is due to expire\&.
.SH "CONFIGURATION"
.PP
The following configuration variables in
/etc/login\&.defs
change the behavior of this tool:
.SH "FILES"
.PP
/etc/passwd
.RS 4
User account information\&.
.RE
.PP
/etc/shadow
.RS 4
Secure user account information\&.
.RE
.SH "EXIT VALUES"
.PP
The
\fBchage\fR
command exits with the following values:
.PP
\fI0\fR
.RS 4
success
.RE
.PP
\fI1\fR
.RS 4
permission denied
.RE
.PP
\fI2\fR
.RS 4
invalid command syntax
.RE
.PP
\fI15\fR
.RS 4
can\*(Aqt find the shadow password file
.RE
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.PP

\fBpasswd\fR(5),
\fBshadow\fR(5)\&.