getent - get entries from administrative database
getent database [key]...
getent gets a list of entries from the administrative database specified
by
database. The information generally comes from one or more of the
sources that are specified for the
database in
/etc/nsswitch.conf.
database is the name of the database to be examined. This can be
passwd,
shadow,
group,
hosts,
ipnodes,
services,
protocols,
ethers,
project,
networks,
netmasks, or
netgroup. For each of these
databases,
getent uses the appropriate library routines described in
getpwnam(3C),
getspnam(3C),
getgrnam(3C),
gethostbyaddr(3NSL),
gethostbyname(3NSL),
getipnodebyaddr(3SOCKET),
getipnodebyname(3SOCKET),
getservbyname(3SOCKET),
getprotobyname(3SOCKET),
ethers(3SOCKET),
getprojbyname(3PROJECT),
getnetbyname(3SOCKET), or
getnetgrent(3C) respectively.
Each
key must be in a format appropriate for searching on the respective
database. For example, it can be a
username or
numeric-uid for
passwd;
hostname or
IP address for
hosts;
or
service,
service/protocol,
port, or
port/proto
for
services.
getent prints out the database entries that match each of the supplied
keys, one per line, in the format of the matching administrative file:
passwd(4),
shadow(4),
group(4),
project(4),
hosts(4),
services(4),
protocols(4),
ethers(3SOCKET),
networks(4), or
netmasks(4). If no key
is given, all entries returned by the corresponding enumeration library
routine, for example,
getpwent() or
gethostent(), are printed.
Enumeration is not supported on
ipnodes.
When
getent is invoked with database set to
passwd, each key value
is processed as follows:
- o
- If the key value consists only of numeric characters, getent
assumes that the key value is a numeric user ID and searches the user
database for a matching user ID.
- o
- If the user ID is not found in the user database or if the key value
contains any non-numeric characters, getent assumes the key value
is a user name and searches the user database for a matching user
name.
Similarly, when
getent is invoked with database set to
group, each
key value is processed as follows:
- o
- If the key value consists only of numeric characters, getent
assumes that the key value is a numeric group ID and searches the group
database for a matching group ID.
- o
- If the group ID is not found in the group database or if the key
value contains any non-numeric characters, getent assumes the key
value is a group name and searches the group database for a
matching group name.
The following exit values are returned:
0
Successful completion.
1
Command syntax was incorrect, an invalid option was used,
or an internal error occurred.
2
At least one of the specified entry names was not found
in the database.
3
There is no support for enumeration on this
database.
/etc/nsswitch.conf
name service switch configuration file
/etc/passwd
password file
/etc/shadow
shadowed password file
/etc/group
group file
/etc/inet/hosts
IPv4 and IPv6 host name database
/etc/services
Internet services and aliases
/etc/project
project file
/etc/protocols
protocol name database
/etc/ethers
Ethernet address to hostname database or domain
/etc/networks
network name database
/etc/netmasks
network mask database
ethers(3SOCKET),
getgrnam(3C),
gethostbyaddr(3NSL),
gethostbyname(3NSL),
gethostent(3NSL),
getipnodebyaddr(3SOCKET),
getipnodebyname(3SOCKET),
getnetbyname(3SOCKET),
getprojbyname(3PROJECT),
getprotobyname(3SOCKET),
getpwnam(3C),
getservbyname(3SOCKET),
group(4),
hosts(4),
netmasks(4),
networks(4),
nsswitch.conf(4),
passwd(4),
project(4),
protocols(4),
services(4),
attributes(5)