Ubuntu Manpage: userdb - manipulate /etc/courier/userdb

Provided by: courier-authlib-userdb_0.69.0-2build3_amd64

NAME

       userdb - manipulate /etc/courier/userdb

SYNOPSIS

       userdb {addr} set {field=value...}

       userdb {addr} unset {field...}

       userdb {addr} del

       userdb {path/addr} [set | unset | del] ...

       userdb -f {file} {adr} [set | unset | del] ...

       userdb -show {path}

       userdb -show {path} {addr}

       userdb -show -f {file}

       userdb -show -f {file} {addr}

DESCRIPTION

userdb is a convenient script to individually manipulate entries in /etc/courier/userdb.
See makeuserdb(8)[1] for a description of its contents. /etc/courier/userdb can always be
edited using any text editor, but userdb is a convenient way to modify this file from
another script.

/etc/courier/userdb can also be a subdirectory, instead of a file. Specify foo/bar/addr to
manipulate addr in the file /etc/courier/userdb/foo/bar. You can also use the -f flag: -f
/etc/courier/userdb/foo/bar is equivalent. Use whatever form makes the most sense to you.

/etc/courier/userdb must not have any group or world permissions. That's because its
contents may include system passwords (depending upon the application which uses this
virtual user account database).

Each line in /etc/courier/userdb takes following form:

addr<TAB>field=value|field=value...

addr specifies a unique virtual address. It is followed by a single tab character, then a
list of field=value pairs, separated by vertical slash characters. See makeuserdb(8)[1]
for field definitions.

A text editor can be used to add blank lines or comments in /etc/courier/userdb. Any blank
lines or comments are ignored by the userdb script.

The names of the actual fields, and their contents, are defined entirely by applications
that use the /etc/courier/userdb database, the userdb command just adds or removes
arbitrary fields.

For example:

userdb default/info set mail=/home/mail/info

This command accesses the address "info" in /etc/courier/userdb/default.

If the second argument to userdb is "set", the remaining arguments are taken as
field=value pairs, which are added to the record for addr. If there is no record for addr,
a new record will be appended to the file. If addr exists, any existing values of any
specified fields are removed. If =value is missing, userdb stops and prompts for it. This
is useful if you're setting a password field, where you do not want to specify the
password on the command line, which can be seen by the ps(1) command. If userdb is being
executed by a script, the value can be provided on standard input.

Use "unset" to delete fields from an existing record. Use "del" to delete all fields in
the existing record, plus the record itself.

DISPLAYING /etc/courier/userdb
If the first argument to userdb is -show, userdb displays the contents of
/etc/courier/userdb. If /etc/courier/userdb is a subdirectory, path must refer to a
specific file in /etc/courier/userdb. The -f option can be used instead of path in order
to specify an arbitrary file.

If addr is not specified, userdb produces a list, on standard output, containing all
addresses found in the file, on per line. If addr is specified, userdb produces a list, on
standard output, of all the fields in /etc/courier/userdb for this addr.

REBUILDING /etc/courier/userdb.dat
The actual virtual account/address database is /etc/courier/userdb.dat. This is a binary
database file. /etc/courier/userdb is the plain text version. After running userdb,
execute the makeuserdb(8)[1] command to rebuild /etc/courier/userdb.dat for the changes to
take effect.

BUGS

       addr must be unique. If /etc/courier/userdb is a subdirectory, it's possible to create the
       same addr in different files in the subdirectory. This is an error that is not currently
       detected by userdb, however the subsequent makeuserdb(8)[1] command will fail with an
       error message.

FILES

       /etc/courier/userdb - plain text file, or directory of plain text files

       .lock.filename - lock file for filename

       .tmp.filename - temporary file used to create new contents of filename

NOTES