chage(1)

NAME

   chage - change user password expiry information

SYNOPSIS

   chage [options] LOGIN

DESCRIPTION

   The chage 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.

OPTIONS

   The options which apply to the chage command are:

   -d, --lastday LAST_DAY
       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).

   -E, --expiredate EXPIRE_DATE
       Set the date or number of days since January 1, 1970 on which the
       user's 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.

       Passing the number -1 as the EXPIRE_DATE will remove an account
       expiration date.

   -h, --help
       Display help message and exit.

   -I, --inactive INACTIVE
       Set the number of days of inactivity after a password has expired
       before the account is locked. The INACTIVE 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.

       Passing the number -1 as the INACTIVE will remove an account's
       inactivity.

   -l, --list
       Show account aging information.

   -m, --mindays MIN_DAYS
       Set the minimum number of days between password changes to
       MIN_DAYS. A value of zero for this field indicates that the user
       may change his/her password at any time.

   -M, --maxdays MAX_DAYS
       Set the maximum number of days during which a password is valid.
       When MAX_DAYS plus LAST_DAY 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 -W option, which provides the user with advance
       warning.

       Passing the number -1 as MAX_DAYS will remove checking a password's
       validity.

   -R, --root CHROOT_DIR
       Apply changes in the CHROOT_DIR directory and use the configuration
       files from the CHROOT_DIR directory.

   -W, --warndays WARN_DAYS
       Set the number of days of warning before a password change is
       required. The WARN_DAYS option is the number of days prior to the
       password expiring that a user will be warned his/her password is
       about to expire.

   If none of the options are selected, chage 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 [ ] marks.

NOTE

   The chage program requires a shadow password file to be available.

   The chage command is restricted to the root user, except for the -l
   option, which may be used by an unprivileged user to determine when
   his/her password or account is due to expire.

CONFIGURATION

   The following configuration variables in /etc/login.defs change the
   behavior of this tool:

FILES

   /etc/passwd
       User account information.

   /etc/shadow
       Secure user account information.

EXIT VALUES

   The chage command exits with the following values:

   0
       success

   1
       permission denied

   2
       invalid command syntax

   15
       can't find the shadow password file

SEE ALSO

   passwd(5), shadow(5).

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