NAME

       chage - change user password expiry information

SYNOPSIS

       chage [options] LOGIN

DESCRIPTION

       The chage command changes the number of days between password changes and the date of the
       last password change. This information is used by the system to determine when a user must
       change his/her password.

OPTIONS

       The options which apply to the chage command are:

       -d, --lastday LAST_DAY
           Set the number of days since January 1st, 1970 when the password was last changed. The
           date may also be expressed in the format YYYY-MM-DD (or the format more commonly used
           in your area).

       -E, --expiredate EXPIRE_DATE
           Set the date or number of days since January 1, 1970 on which the user's account will
           no longer be accessible. The date may also be expressed in the format YYYY-MM-DD (or
           the format more commonly used in your area). A user whose account is locked must
           contact the system administrator before being able to use the system again.

           Passing the number -1 as the EXPIRE_DATE will remove an account expiration date.

       -h, --help
           Display help message and exit.

       -I, --inactive INACTIVE
           Set the number of days of inactivity after a password has expired before the account
           is locked. The INACTIVE option is the number of days of inactivity. A user whose
           account is locked must contact the system administrator before being able to use the
           system again.

           Passing the number -1 as the INACTIVE will remove an account's inactivity.

       -l, --list
           Show account aging information.

       -m, --mindays MIN_DAYS
           Set the minimum number of days between password changes to MIN_DAYS. A value of zero
           for this field indicates that the user may change his/her password at any time.

       -M, --maxdays MAX_DAYS
           Set the maximum number of days during which a password is valid. When MAX_DAYS plus
           LAST_DAY is less than the current day, the user will be required to change his/her
           password before being able to use his/her account. This occurrence can be planned for
           in advance by use of the -W option, which provides the user with advance warning.

           Passing the number -1 as MAX_DAYS will remove checking a password's validity.

       -R, --root CHROOT_DIR
           Apply changes in the CHROOT_DIR directory and use the configuration files from the
           CHROOT_DIR directory.

       -W, --warndays WARN_DAYS
           Set the number of days of warning before a password change is required. The WARN_DAYS
           option is the number of days prior to the password expiring that a user will be warned
           his/her password is about to expire.

       If none of the options are selected, chage operates in an interactive fashion, prompting
       the user with the current values for all of the fields. Enter the new value to change the
       field, or leave the line blank to use the current value. The current value is displayed
       between a pair of [ ] marks.

NOTE

       The chage program requires a shadow password file to be available.

       The chage command is restricted to the root user, except for the -l option, which may be
       used by an unprivileged user to determine when his/her password or account is due to
       expire.

CONFIGURATION

       The following configuration variables in /etc/login.defs change the behavior of this tool:

FILES

       /etc/passwd
           User account information.

       /etc/shadow
           Secure user account information.

EXIT VALUES

       The chage command exits with the following values:

       0
           success

       1
           permission denied

       2
           invalid command syntax

       15
           can't find the shadow password file

SEE ALSO

       passwd(5), shadow(5).