pwd module in Python

pwd module in Python provides access to the Unix user account and password database. Each entry stored in Unix user account and password database is reported as a tuple-like object whose attributes are similar as the members of passwd structure defined in <pwd.h> header file.

Following are the attributes of the tuple-like object which represents the entries stored in Unix user account and password database:

Index	Attributes	Meaning
0	pw_name	Login name
1	pw_passwd	Optional encrypted password
2	pw_uid	Numerical user ID
3	pwd_gid	Numerical group ID
4	pw_gecos	User name or comment field
5	pw_dir	User home directory
6	pw_shell	User command interpreter

Note: pwd module is a UNIX specific service. So, all method of this module is available on UNIX versions only.

pwd module defines following three methods:

• pwd.getpwuid() method
• pwd.getpwnam() method
• pwd.getpwall() method

pwd.getpwuid() method -

pwd.getpwnam() method in Python is used to get the password database entry for the specified user id.

Syntax: pwd.getpwuid(uid)

Parameter:
uid: A numeric value representing the user id for which password database entry is required.

Return type: This method returns a tuple-like object of class ‘pwd.struct_passwd’ which represents the password database entry for the specified user id.

Code: Use of pwd.getpwuid() method

# Python program to explain pwd.getpwuid() method

# importing pwd module
import pwd

# User id
uid = 1000

# Get the password
# database entry for the
# specified user id
# using pwd.getpwuid() method
entry = pwd.getpwuid(uid)

# Print the retrieved entry
print("Password database entry for user id : % d:" % uid)
print(entry)

# User id
uid = 0

# Get the password
# database entry for the
# specified user id
# using pwd.getpwuid() method
entry = pwd.getpwuid(uid)

# Print the retrieved entry
print("Password database entry for user id : % d:" % uid)
print(entry)

Output:

Password database entry for user id : 1000
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='ihritik', pw_passwd='x', pw_uid=1000, pw_gid=1000,
pw_gecos='Hritik,,, ', pw_dir='/home/ihritik', pw_shell='/bin/bash')

Password database entry for user id : 0
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='root', pw_passwd='x', pw_uid=0, pw_gid=0, pw_gecos='root',
pw_dir='/root', pw_shell='/bin/bash')

pwd.getpwnam() method -

pwd.getpwnam() method in Python is used to get the password database entry for the specified user name

Syntax: pwd.getpwnam(name)

Parameter:
name: A string value representing the user name for which password database entry is required.

Return type: This method returns a tuple-like object of class ‘pwd.struct_passwd’ which represents the password database entry for the specified name.

Code: Use of pwd.getpwnam() method

# Python program to explain pwd.getpwnam() method

# importing pwd module
import pwd

# User name
name = "ihritik"

# Get the password
# database entry for the
# specified username
# using pwd.getpwnam() method
entry = pwd.getpwnam(name)

# Print the retrieved entry
print("Password database entry for '% s':" % name)
print(entry)


# User name
name = "root"

# Get the password
# database entry for the
# specified username
# using pwd.getpwnam() method
entry = pwd.getpwnam(name)

# Print the retrieved entry
print("\nPassword database entry for '% s':" % name)
print(entry)

Output:

Password database entry for 'ihritik':
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='ihritik', pw_passwd='x', pw_uid=1000, pw_gid=1000,
pw_gecos='Hritik,,, ', pw_dir='/home/ihritik', pw_shell='/bin/bash')

Password database entry for 'root':
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name='root', pw_passwd='x', pw_uid=0, pw_gid=0, pw_gecos='root',
pw_dir='/root', pw_shell='/bin/bash')

pwd.getpwall() method -

pwd.getpwall() method in Python is used to get the list of all available entries stored in password database.

Syntax: pwd.getpwall()

Parameter: No parameter is required.

Return type: This method returns a list of tuple-like object of class ‘pwd.struct_passwd’ whose elements represent all available entries stored in password database.

Code: Use of pwd.getpwall() method

# Python program to explain pwd.getpwall() method

# importing pwd module
import pwd

# Get the list
# of all available password
# database entries using
# pwd.getpwall() method
entries = pwd.getpwall()



# Print the list
print("Password database entries:")
for row in entries:
    print(row)

Output:

Password database entries:
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’root’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=0, pw_gid=0, pw_gecos=’root’, pw_dir=’/root’, pw_shell=’/bin/bash’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’daemon’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=1, pw_gid=1, pw_gecos=’daemon’, pw_dir=’/usr/sbin’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’bin’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=2, pw_gid=2, pw_gecos=’bin’, pw_dir=’/bin’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’sys’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=3, pw_gid=3, pw_gecos=’sys’, pw_dir=’/dev’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’sync’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=4, pw_gid=65534, pw_gecos=’sync’, pw_dir=’/bin’, pw_shell=’/bin/sync’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’games’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=5, pw_gid=60, pw_gecos=’games’, pw_dir=’/usr/games’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’man’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=6, pw_gid=12, pw_gecos=’man’, pw_dir=’/var/cache/man’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’lp’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=7, pw_gid=7, pw_gecos=’lp’, pw_dir=’/var/spool/lpd’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’mail’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=8, pw_gid=8, pw_gecos=’mail’, pw_dir=’/var/mail’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’news’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=9, pw_gid=9, pw_gecos=’news’, pw_dir=’/var/spool/news’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’uucp’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=10, pw_gid=10, pw_gecos=’uucp’, pw_dir=’/var/spool/uucp’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’proxy’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=13, pw_gid=13, pw_gecos=’proxy’, pw_dir=’/bin’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’www-data’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=33, pw_gid=33, pw_gecos=’www-data’, pw_dir=’/var/www’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’backup’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=34, pw_gid=34, pw_gecos=’backup’, pw_dir=’/var/backups’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’list’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=38, pw_gid=38, pw_gecos=’Mailing List Manager’, pw_dir=’/var/list’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’irc’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=39, pw_gid=39, pw_gecos=’ircd’, pw_dir=’/var/run/ircd’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’gnats’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=41, pw_gid=41, pw_gecos=’Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin)’, pw_dir=’/var/lib/gnats’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’nobody’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=65534, pw_gid=65534, pw_gecos=’nobody’, pw_dir=’/nonexistent’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’systemd-timesync’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=100, pw_gid=102, pw_gecos=’systemd Time Synchronization,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/run/systemd’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’systemd-network’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=101, pw_gid=103, pw_gecos=’systemd Network Management,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/run/systemd/netif’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’systemd-resolve’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=102, pw_gid=104, pw_gecos=’systemd Resolver,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/run/systemd/resolve’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’systemd-bus-proxy’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=103, pw_gid=105, pw_gecos=’systemd Bus Proxy,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/run/systemd’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’syslog’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=104, pw_gid=108, pw_gecos=”, pw_dir=’/home/syslog’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’messagebus’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=105, pw_gid=109, pw_gecos=”, pw_dir=’/var/run/dbus’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’_apt’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=106, pw_gid=65534, pw_gecos=”, pw_dir=’/nonexistent’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’uuidd’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=107, pw_gid=113, pw_gecos=”, pw_dir=’/run/uuidd’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’rtkit’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=108, pw_gid=114, pw_gecos=’RealtimeKit,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/proc’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’avahi-autoipd’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=109, pw_gid=115, pw_gecos=’Avahi autoip daemon,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/var/lib/avahi-autoipd’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’usbmux’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=110, pw_gid=46, pw_gecos=’usbmux daemon,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/var/lib/usbmux’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’dnsmasq’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=111, pw_gid=65534, pw_gecos=’dnsmasq,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/var/lib/misc’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’whoopsie’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=112, pw_gid=119, pw_gecos=”, pw_dir=’/nonexistent’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’kernoops’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=113, pw_gid=65534, pw_gecos=’Kernel Oops Tracking Daemon,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’speech-dispatcher’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=114, pw_gid=29, pw_gecos=’Speech Dispatcher,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/var/run/speech-dispatcher’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’avahi’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=115, pw_gid=120, pw_gecos=’Avahi mDNS daemon,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/var/run/avahi-daemon’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’saned’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=116, pw_gid=122, pw_gecos=”, pw_dir=’/var/lib/saned’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’pulse’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=117, pw_gid=123, pw_gecos=’PulseAudio daemon,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/var/run/pulse’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’colord’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=118, pw_gid=125, pw_gecos=’colord colour management daemon,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/var/lib/colord’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’hplip’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=119, pw_gid=7, pw_gecos=’HPLIP system user,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/var/run/hplip’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’geoclue’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=120, pw_gid=126, pw_gecos=”, pw_dir=’/var/lib/geoclue’, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’gdm’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=121, pw_gid=127, pw_gecos=’Gnome Display Manager’, pw_dir=’/var/lib/gdm3′, pw_shell=’/bin/false’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’ihritik’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=1000, pw_gid=1000, pw_gecos=’Hritik,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/home/ihritik’, pw_shell=’/bin/bash’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’sshd’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=122, pw_gid=65534, pw_gecos=”, pw_dir=’/run/sshd’, pw_shell=’/usr/sbin/nologin’)
pwd.struct_passwd(pw_name=’master’, pw_passwd=’x’, pw_uid=1001, pw_gid=1002, pw_gecos=’,,, ‘, pw_dir=’/home/master’, pw_shell=’/bin/bash’)