CHAGE(1)			 User Commands			      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
	  users 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 accounts
	  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 passwords
	  validity.

       -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.

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
	  cant find the shadow password file

SEE ALSO
       passwd(5), shadow(5).



User Commands			  02/25/2007			      CHAGE(1)