# phpman > man > chfn(1)

> **TLDR:** Update `finger` info for a user.
>
- Update a user's "Name" field in the output of `finger`:
  `chfn {{-f|--full-name}} {{new_display_name}} {{username}}`
- Update a user's "Office Room Number" field for the output of `finger`:
  `chfn {{-o|--office}} {{new_office_room_number}} {{username}}`
- Update a user's "Office Phone Number" field for the output of `finger`:
  `chfn {{-p|--office-phone}} {{new_office_telephone_number}} {{username}}`
- Update a user's "Home Phone Number" field for the output of `finger`:
  `chfn {{-h|--home-phone}} {{new_home_telephone_number}} {{username}}`

*Source: tldr-pages*

---

[CHFN(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/CHFN/1/markdown)                                     User Commands                                    [CHFN(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/CHFN/1/markdown)



## NAME
       chfn - change real user name and information

## SYNOPSIS
       **chfn** [_options_] [_LOGIN_]

## DESCRIPTION
       The **chfn** command changes user fullname, office room number, office phone number, and home
       phone number information for a user's account. This information is typically printed by
       [**finger**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/finger/1/markdown) and similar programs. A normal user may only change the fields for her own account,
       subject to the restrictions in /etc/login.defs. (The default configuration is to prevent
       users from changing their fullname.) The superuser may change any field for any account.
       Additionally, only the superuser may use the **-o** option to change the undefined portions of
       the GECOS field.

       These fields must not contain any colons. Except for the _other_ field, they should not contain
       any comma or equal sign. It is also recommended to avoid non-US-ASCII characters, but this is
       only enforced for the phone numbers. The _other_ field is used to store accounting information
       used by other applications.

## OPTIONS
       The options which apply to the **chfn** command are:

### -f --full-name
           Change the user's full name.

### -h --home-phone
           Change the user's home phone number.

### -o --other
           Change the user's other GECOS information. This field is used to store accounting
           information used by other applications, and can be changed only by a superuser.

### -r --room
           Change the user's room number.

### -R --root
           Apply changes in the _CHROOT_DIR_ directory and use the configuration files from the
           _CHROOT_DIR_ directory.

### -u --help
           Display help message and exit.

### -w --work-phone
           Change the user's office phone number.

       If none of the options are selected, **chfn** 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. Without options, **chfn** prompts for the current user account.

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

### CHFN___RESTRICT (string)
           This parameter specifies which values in the _gecos_ field of the /etc/passwd file may be
           changed by regular users using the **chfn** program. It can be any combination of letters _f_,
           _r_, _w_, _h_, for Full name, Room number, Work phone, and Home phone, respectively. For
           backward compatibility, _yes_ is equivalent to _rwh_ and _no_ is equivalent to _frwh_. If not
           specified, only the superuser can make any changes. The most restrictive setting is
           better achieved by not installing **chfn** SUID.

## FILES
       /etc/login.defs
           Shadow password suite configuration.

       /etc/passwd
           User account information.

## SEE ALSO
       [**chsh**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/chsh/1/markdown), [**login.defs**(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/login.defs/5/markdown), [**passwd**(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/passwd/5/markdown).



shadow-utils 4.8.1                           02/06/2024                                      [CHFN(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/CHFN/1/markdown)