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📛 NAME

chsh - change login shell

🚀 Quick Reference

Use Case	Command	Description
🔄 Change current user's shell	chsh -s /bin/bash	Switch to Bash
👤 Change another user's shell (root)	sudo chsh -s /bin/zsh username	Set shell for a specific user
📋 List valid shells	cat /etc/shells	Show allowed login shells
⚙️ Reset to default shell	chsh -s ""	Clear shell field to system default
💬 Interactive mode	chsh	Prompt for new shell (current shown)

📋 SYNOPSIS

chsh [options] [LOGIN]

ℹ️ DESCRIPTION

The chsh command changes the user login shell. This determines the name of the user's initial login command. A normal user may only change the login shell for her own account; the superuser may change the login shell for any account.

⚙️ OPTIONS

The options which apply to the chsh command are:

• -h, --help — 📖 Display help message and exit.
• -R, --root CHROOT_DIR — 🔧 Apply changes in the CHROOT_DIR directory and use the configuration files from the CHROOT_DIR directory.
• -s, --shell SHELL — 🐚 The name of the user's new login shell. Setting this field to blank causes the system to select the default login shell.

If the -s option is not selected, chsh operates in an interactive fashion, prompting the user with the current login shell. Enter the new value to change the shell, or leave the line blank to use the current one. The current shell is displayed between a pair of [ ] marks.

📝 NOTE

The only restriction placed on the login shell is that the command name must be listed in /etc/shells, unless the invoker is the superuser, and then any value may be added. An account with a restricted login shell may not change her login shell. For this reason, placing /bin/rsh in /etc/shells is discouraged since accidentally changing to a restricted shell would prevent the user from ever changing her login shell back to its original value.

📁 FILES

• /etc/passwd — 📄 User account information.
• /etc/shells — 📃 List of valid login shells.
• /etc/login.defs — ⚙️ Shadow password suite configuration.

🔗 SEE ALSO

chfn(1), login.defs(5), passwd(5).

📛 NAME 🚀 Quick Reference 📋 SYNOPSIS ℹ️ DESCRIPTION ⚙️ OPTIONS 📝 NOTE 📁 FILES 🔗 SEE ALSO