CHSH(1)                          User Commands                         CHSH(1)



NAME
       chsh - change login shell

SYNOPSIS
       chsh [options] [LOGIN]

DESCRIPTION
       The chsh command changes the user login shell. This determines the name
       of the user's initial login command. A normal user may only change the
       login shell for her own account; the superuser may change the login
       shell for any account.

OPTIONS
       The options which apply to the chsh command are:

       -h, --help
           Display help message and exit.

       -R, --root CHROOT_DIR
           Apply changes in the CHROOT_DIR directory and use the configuration
           files from the CHROOT_DIR directory.

       -s, --shell SHELL
           The name of the user's new login shell. Setting this field to blank
           causes the system to select the default login shell.

       If the -s option is not selected, chsh operates in an interactive
       fashion, prompting the user with the current login shell. Enter the new
       value to change the shell, or leave the line blank to use the current
       one. The current shell is displayed between a pair of [ ] marks.

NOTE
       The only restriction placed on the login shell is that the command name
       must be listed in /etc/shells, unless the invoker is the superuser, and
       then any value may be added. An account with a restricted login shell
       may not change her login shell. For this reason, placing /bin/rsh in
       /etc/shells is discouraged since accidentally changing to a restricted
       shell would prevent the user from ever changing her login shell back to
       its original value.

FILES
       /etc/passwd
           User account information.

       /etc/shells
           List of valid login shells.

       /etc/login.defs
           Shadow password suite configuration.

SEE ALSO
       chfn(1), login.defs(5), passwd(5).



shadow-utils 4.2                  11/18/2015                           CHSH(1)
