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Command chage on Linux (account expiration)

The chage command in Linux deals with the expiration of user accounts. Expires are recorded in the /etc/shadow file.

Your options are:

-And date: Enter the expiration date in the format year, month and day

(YYYY-MM-DD). If “-1” (minus 1) is entered, it will remove the account’s expiration date.

  • -l: Lists the user’s account settings. This option can be used by any user.
  • -d N or YYYY-MM-DD: Configures the number N of days since the last password modification since 01/01/1970. It also accepts a date in the format YYYY-MM-DD.
  • -E N or YYYY-MM-DD: Set the number of days on which the account will be disabled since 01/01/1970. It also accepts a date in the format YYYY-MM-DD.
  • -I N: Configures the number of days of inactivity after the expiration of the password in which the account will be disabled.
  • -m N: Configures the minimum number of days a password is valid for. A zero value allows the user to change passwords at any time.
  • -M N: Configures the maximum number of days a password is valid for, forcing the user to change it.
  • -W N: Configures the number N of days in which a warning will be given to the user before the password is changed.

The default parameter settings for user accounts are in the /etc/login.defs file

Example:

# chage —E 2016-05-23 Christians

The chage command can also operate interactively, just informing the user’s account without any options:

# chage arthur <br></br>Changing the aging information for Arthur <br></br>Enter the new value, or press ENTER for the default <br></br>Minimum Password Age [0]: 10 <br></br>Maximum Password Age [99999]: 60 <br></br>Last Password Change (YYYY-MM-DD) [2019-10-17]: <br></br>Password Expiration Warning [7] :& nbsp; 7

Inactive Password [-1]: 10
Account Expiration Date (YYYY-MM-DD) [2019-10-31]: 2019-10-31 Account expiration information can be viewed with the “-l” command option.

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