Question

32

user does not exist in /etc/passwd when trying to change the default shell

rated 0 times [ 32] [ 0] / answers: 1 / hits: 118902 / 1 Year ago, mon, february 13, 2023, 8:29:30

I want to change my default shell from tcsh to bash. So I tried and this is what happened:

>sudo chsh userid

Changing the login shell for userid

Enter the new value, or press ENTER for the default

        Login Shell [/xhbin/tcsh]: /bin/bash

chsh: user 'userid' does not exist in /etc/passwd

Indeed, I am not in /etc/passwd. I don't know why.

What can I do?

Answers

Only authorized users can answer the question. Please sign in first, or register a free account.

nguai

Add To Favorites

Follow

Total Points: 216

Total Questions: 108

Total Answers: 116

Location: Hong Kong

Member since Thu, Dec 16, 2021

2 Years ago

nguai questions

1 Add timestamp to log output from bash script

Thu, Mar 9, 23, 19:37, 1 Year ago

1 Terminal launches to a blinking cursor

Thu, Apr 27, 23, 02:41, 1 Year ago

1 OpenShot will not upgrade

Tue, Jan 17, 23, 20:59, 1 Year ago

1 Can't connect Pixel 4

Fri, Oct 8, 21, 19:38, 3 Years ago

1 Cannot connect with SSH from iOS to Ubuntu 20.04

Tue, Oct 5, 21, 15:24, 3 Years ago

View All

answered 1 Year ago pantkie · Accepted Answer

My computer is part of a network using distributed authentication, so my user details would not appear in the local /etc/passwd file (but are visible using getent passwd userid) (thanks @steeldriver).
In my case I had to do chsh on a core machine.