groupmod(8)

NAME

   groupmod - modify a group definition on the system

SYNOPSIS

   groupmod [options] GROUP

DESCRIPTION

   The groupmod command modifies the definition of the specified GROUP by
   modifying the appropriate entry in the group database.

OPTIONS

   The options which apply to the groupmod command are:

   -g, --gid GID
       The group ID of the given GROUP will be changed to GID.

       The value of GID must be a non-negative decimal integer. This value
       must be unique, unless the -o option is used.

       Users who use the group as primary group will be updated to keep
       the group as their primary group.

       Any files that have the old group ID and must continue to belong to
       GROUP, must have their group ID changed manually.

       No checks will be performed with regard to the GID_MIN, GID_MAX,
       SYS_GID_MIN, or SYS_GID_MAX from /etc/login.defs.

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

   -n, --new-name NEW_GROUP
       The name of the group will be changed from GROUP to NEW_GROUP name.

   -o, --non-unique
       When used with the -g option, allow to change the group GID to a
       non-unique value.

   -p, --password PASSWORD
       The encrypted password, as returned by crypt(3).

       Note: This option is not recommended because the password (or
       encrypted password) will be visible by users listing the processes.

       You should make sure the password respects the system's password
       policy.

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

CONFIGURATION

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

   MAX_MEMBERS_PER_GROUP (number)
       Maximum members per group entry. When the maximum is reached, a new
       group entry (line) is started in /etc/group (with the same name,
       same password, and same GID).

       The default value is 0, meaning that there are no limits in the
       number of members in a group.

       This feature (split group) permits to limit the length of lines in
       the group file. This is useful to make sure that lines for NIS
       groups are not larger than 1024 characters.

       If you need to enforce such limit, you can use 25.

       Note: split groups may not be supported by all tools (even in the
       Shadow toolsuite). You should not use this variable unless you
       really need it.

FILES

   /etc/group
       Group account information.

   /etc/gshadow
       Secure group account information.

   /etc/login.defs
       Shadow password suite configuration.

   /etc/passwd
       User account information.

EXIT VALUES

   The groupmod command exits with the following values:

   0
       success

   2
       invalid command syntax

   3
       invalid argument to option

   4
       specified group doesn't exist

   6
       specified group doesn't exist

   9
       group name already in use

   10
       can't update group file

SEE ALSO

   chfn(1), chsh(1), passwd(1), gpasswd(8), groupadd(8), groupdel(8),
   login.defs(5), useradd(8), userdel(8), usermod(8).

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