buildroot

// -*- mode:doc -*- ;

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[[makeuser-syntax]]

Makeuser syntax documentation

-----------------------------

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The syntax to create users is inspired by the makedev syntax, above, but

is specific to Buildroot.

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The syntax for adding a user is a space-separated list of fields, one

user per line; the fields are:

​

|=================================================================

|username |uid |group |gid |password |home |shell |groups |comment

|=================================================================

​

Where:

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- +username+ is the desired user name (aka login name) for the user.

  It can not be +root+, and must be unique.

- +uid+ is the desired UID for the user. It must be unique, and not

  +0+. If set to +-1+, then a unique UID will be computed by Buildroot

  in the range [1000...1999]

- +group+ is the desired name for the user's main group. It can not

  be +root+. If the group does not exist, it will be created.

- +gid+ is the desired GID for the user's main group. It must be unique,

  and not +0+. If set to +-1+, and the group does not already exist, then

  a unique GID will be computed by Buildroot in the range [1000..1999]

- +password+ is the crypt(3)-encoded password. If prefixed with +!+,

  then login is disabled. If prefixed with +=+, then it is interpreted

  as clear-text, and will be crypt-encoded (using MD5). If prefixed with

  +!=+, then the password will be crypt-encoded (using MD5) and login

  will be disabled. If set to +*+, then login is not allowed.

- +home+ is the desired home directory for the user. If set to '-', no

  home directory will be created, and the user's home will be +/+.

  Explicitly setting +home+ to +/+ is not allowed.

- +shell+ is the desired shell for the user. If set to +-+, then

  +/bin/false+ is set as the user's shell.

- +groups+ is the comma-separated list of additional groups the user

  should be part of. If set to +-+, then the user will be a member of

  no additional group. Missing groups will be created with an arbitrary

  +gid+.

- +comment+ (aka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gecos_field[GECOS]

  field) is an almost-free-form text.

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There are a few restrictions on the content of each field:

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* except for +comment+, all fields are mandatory.

* except for +comment+, fields may not contain spaces.

* no field may contain a colon (+:+).

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If +home+ is not +-+, then the home directory, and all files below,

will belong to the user and its main group.

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Examples:

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----

foo -1 bar -1 !=blabla /home/foo /bin/sh alpha,bravo Foo user

----

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This will create this user:

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- +username+ (aka login name) is: +foo+