Syntax of master.passwd

The master.passwd is a text file with every line holding exactly one user. It is located in %UNIXROOT\etc.

Note: The user information in master.passwd is a prerequisite for Samba's own user information.

One line consists of several fields delimited by a ":".

Sample line with all fields:

Username:password:UID:GID:Login-Class:Change pw in x sec:Deactivate in x sec:GECOS:HOME:SHELL

Field	Description	Recommended value when using Samba	Example
Username	Username that should be used to login	Required field	herwig
Password	Not used currently	Leave empty or add * as value	*
UID	User-ID	Required, give each user a unique number	110
GID	Group-ID	Required. If groups are not used, same value as UID	110
Login-Class	Not used currently	Leave empty
Change pw in x sec	Not used currently	Set to zero (0)	0
Deactivate pw in x sec	Not used currently	Set to zero (0)	0
GECOS	Full username	Useful, but not completely supported	Herwig Bauernfeind
Home	The user's home directory	Enter path, see Note below||D$/Samba/User/herwig
Shell	The user's shell	Not used currently	/usr/sbin/nologin

With the examples from the above table, a valid line in master.passwd would look like the following line:

# This is a comment in master.passwd herwig:*:110:110::0:0:Herwig Bauernfeind:D$/Samba/User/herwig:/usr/sbin/nologin

Note: You must enter a valid OS/2 path in this field and replace the ":" following the driveletter by a "$", otherwise the ":" would be misinterpreted as a field delimiter resulting in a broken master.passwd.

Note: This works on Samba builds newer than 04/02/2008 with Ticket #44 fixed.

Syntax of group

The group is a text file with every line holding exactly one group and its assoiciated users. It is located in %UNIXROOT\etc.

One line consists of several fields delimited by a ":".

Sample line of the group file:

group name:group password:GID:list of users in this group

Field	Description	Recommended value when using Samba	Example
group name	The name of the group	A simple text describing the group	admins
group password	Common password for all members	Not used currently (Or better: Not tested yet)	*
GID	Group-ID	Give each group a unique number	3000
List of users	separated by commas	All users, that are members of this group	root,toor

With the examples similar to the above table, a valid group file would look like the following:

# This is a comment in the group file
admin:*:3000:root,psmedley,ydario,
users:*:3001:herwig,gabriele,
guests:*:3002:guest,pcguest,

Note: One user can be a member of multiple groups.

Note: Having at least these 3 groups is recommended.

Note: Don't forget the trailing comma after the last user!