USERDB(8)USERDB(8)NAME
userdb - manipulate /etc/maildrop/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/maildrop/userdb. See makeuserdb(8) for a description of its con‐
tents. /etc/maildrop/userdb can always be edited using any text edi‐
tor, but userdb is a convenient way to modify this file from another
script.
/etc/maildrop/userdb can also be a subdirectory, instead of a file.
Specify foo/bar/addr to manipulate addr in the file /etc/mail‐
drop/userdb/foo/bar. You can also use the -f flag: -f /etc/mail‐
drop/userdb/foo/bar is equivalent. Use whatever form makes the most
sense to you.
/etc/maildrop/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/maildrop/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) for field definitions.
A text editor can be used to add blank lines or comments in /etc/mail‐
drop/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/maildrop/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/mail‐
drop/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/MAILDROP/USERDB
If the first argument to userdb is -show, userdb displays the contents
of /etc/maildrop/userdb. If /etc/maildrop/userdb is a subdirectory,
path must refer to a specific file in /etc/maildrop/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/maildrop/userdb for this addr.
REBUILDING /ETC/MAILDROP/USERDB.DAT
The actual virtual account/address database is /etc/mail‐
drop/userdb.dat. This is a binary database file. /etc/maildrop/userdb
is the plain text version. After running userdb, execute the
makeuserdb(8) command to rebuild /etc/maildrop/userdb.dat for the
changes to take effect.
BUGS
addr must be unique. If /etc/maildrop/userdb is a subdirectory, it's
possible to create the same addr in different files in the subdirec‐
tory. This is an error that is not currently detected by userdb, how‐
ever the subsequent makeuserdb(8) command will fail with an error mes‐
sage.
FILES
/etc/maildrop/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
SEE ALSOmakeuserdb(8), userdbpw(8)Double Precision, Inc. 25 July 2004 USERDB(8)
