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PROLOG
This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface
may differ (consult the corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface
may not be implemented on Linux.
NAME
endpwent, getpwent, setpwent — user database functions
SYNOPSIS
#include <pwd.h> void endpwent(void); struct passwd *getpwent(void); void setpwent(void);
DESCRIPTION
These functions shall retrieve information about users.
The getpwent() function shall return a pointer to a structure containing the broken-out fields of an
entry in the user database. Each entry in the user database contains a passwd structure. When first
called, getpwent() shall return a pointer to a passwd structure containing the first entry in the user
database. Thereafter, it shall return a pointer to a passwd structure containing the next entry in the
user database. Successive calls can be used to search the entire user database.
If an end-of-file or an error is encountered on reading, getpwent() shall return a null pointer.
An implementation that provides extended security controls may impose further implementation-defined
restrictions on accessing the user database. In particular, the system may deny the existence of some or
all of the user database entries associated with users other than the caller.
The setpwent() function effectively rewinds the user database to allow repeated searches.
The endpwent() function may be called to close the user database when processing is complete.
These functions need not be thread-safe.
RETURN VALUE
The getpwent() function shall return a null pointer on end-of-file or error.
The application shall not modify the structure to which the return value points, nor any storage areas
pointed to by pointers within the structure. The returned pointer, and pointers within the structure,
might be invalidated or the structure or the storage areas might be overwritten by a subsequent call to
getpwuid(), getpwnam(), or getpwent().
ERRORS
These functions may fail if:
EIO An I/O error has occurred.
In addition, getpwent() and setpwent() may fail if:
EMFILE All file descriptors available to the process are currently open.
ENFILE The maximum allowable number of files is currently open in the system.
The following sections are informative.
EXAMPLES
Searching the User Database
The following example uses the getpwent() function to get successive entries in the user database,
returning a pointer to a passwd structure that contains information about each user. The call to
endpwent() closes the user database and cleans up.
#include <pwd.h>
#include <stdio.h>
void printname(uid_t uid)
{
struct passwd *pwd;
setpwent();
while((pwd = getpwent()) != NULL) {
if (pwd->pw_uid == uid) {
printf("name=%s\n",pwd->pw_name);
break;
}
}
endpwent();
}
APPLICATION USAGE
These functions are provided due to their historical usage. Applications should avoid dependencies on
fields in the password database, whether the database is a single file, or where in the file system name
space the database resides. Applications should use getpwuid() whenever possible because it avoids these
dependencies.
RATIONALE
None.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
None.
SEE ALSO
endgrent(), getlogin(), getpwnam(), getpwuid()
The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2008, <pwd.h>
COPYRIGHT
Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2013 Edition,
Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
Specifications Issue 7, Copyright (C) 2013 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc
and The Open Group. (This is POSIX.1-2008 with the 2013 Technical Corrigendum 1 applied.) In the event
of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original
IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at
http://www.unix.org/online.html .
Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced
during the conversion of the source files to man page format. To report such errors, see
https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .