Linux "chage" Command Line Options and Examples
change user password expiry information

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..


Usage:

chage [options] LOGIN






Command Line Options:

-d
Set the number of days since January 1st, 1970 when the password was last changed. The date may also be expressed in the formatYYYY-MM-DD (or the format more commonly used in your area).
chage -d ...
-E
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 alsobe expressed in the format YYYY-MM-DD (or the format more commonly used in your area). A user whose account is locked mustcontact 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.
chage -E ...
-h
Display help message and exit.
chage -h ...
-I
Set the number of days of inactivity after a password has expired before the account is locked. The INACTIVE option is the numberof days of inactivity. A user whose account is locked must contact the system administrator before being able to use the systemagain.Passing the number -1 as the INACTIVE will remove an account's inactivity.
chage -I ...
-l
Show account aging information.
chage -l ...
-m
Set the minimum number of days between password changes to MIN_DAYS. A value of zero for this field indicates that the user maychange his/her password at any time.
chage -m ...
-M
Set the maximum number of days during which a password is valid. When MAX_DAYS plus LAST_DAY is less than the current day, theuser will be required to change his/her password before being able to use his/her account. This occurrence can be planned for inadvance 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.
chage -M ...
-R
Apply changes in the CHROOT_DIR directory and use the configuration files from the CHROOT_DIR directory.
chage -R ...
-W
Set the number of days of warning before a password change is required. The WARN_DAYS option is the number of days prior to thepassword 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 ofthe fields. Enter the new value to change the field, or leave the line blank to use the current value. The current value is displayedbetween a pair of [ ] marks.NOTEThe 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 determinewhen his/her password or account is due to expire.CONFIGURATIONThe following configuration variables in /etc/login.defs change the behavior of this tool:FILES/etc/passwdUser account information./etc/shadowSecure user account information.EXIT VALUESThe chage command exits with the following values:0success1permission denied2invalid command syntax15can't find the shadow password file
chage -W ...