getent Command in Linux: Query Users, Groups, and System Databases

The getent command in Linux is used to access the user account, password, and group databases.

Only the databases configured in the /etc/nsswitch.conf file can be accessed with this command.

The command syntax is:

$ getent base_de_dados chave

The database can have the following values:

• passwd: refers to the /etc/passwd file;
• shadow: refers to the /etc/shadow file;
• group: refers to the /etc/group file;

The key is the item in the database you want information about.

See the example, it shows the zabbix user account data:

$ getent passwd zabbixzabbix:x:500:501::/home/zabbix:/bin/bash

Only root can access the shadow database:

# getent shadow zabbixzabbix:$6$..5pDu8/$SBoEjzWpYE3hRNhoPI8pJW5rPpM2eEqc3OyWgAqFAJWJsaOyxqMGs9BylcNiTKk.su.OQCuSEWRUEPoAuZFq0.:16537:0:99999:7::16509:

The getent command is useful for getting the data of a specific user account or group, without having to list the contents of the passwd, shadow or group files and filter the results with grep.

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