phpman > man > CHAGE(1)

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⚡ TLDR: CHAGE (tldr-pages)

Change user account and password expiry information.

List password information for the user
chage {{-l|--list}} {{username}}
Enable password expiration in 10 days
sudo chage {{-M|--maxdays}} {{10}} {{username}}
Disable password expiration
sudo chage {{-M|--maxdays}} {{1}} {{username}}
Set account expiration date
sudo chage {{-E|--expiredate}} {{YYYY-MM-DD}} {{username}}
Force user to change password on next log in
sudo chage {{-d|--lastday}} {{0}} {{username}}
Re-enable an account
sudo chage {{-E|--expiredate}} -1 {{username}}

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 their 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, --iso8601
When printing dates, use YYYY-MM-DD format.

-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 their 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 their password
before being able to use their 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
their 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 their 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