VIPW(8) System Management Commands VIPW(8)

.SH "NAME" vipw, vigr - edit the password, group, shadow-password or shadow-group file

.SH "SYNOPSIS"

.HP 120u

**vipw**  
\[*options*]

.HP 120u

**vigr**  
\[*options*]

.SH "DESCRIPTION"

.PP The **vipw** and **vigr** commands edit the files /etc/passwd and /etc/group, respectively. With the **-s** flag, they will edit the shadow versions of those files, /etc/shadow and /etc/gshadow, respectively. The programs will set the appropriate locks to prevent file corruption. When looking for an editor, the programs will first try the environment variable **$VISUAL**, then the environment variable **$EDITOR**, and finally the default editor, [**vi**(1)](/man/os/shadow/vi.1).

.SH "OPTIONS"

.PP The options which apply to the **vipw** and **vigr** commands are:

.PP **-g**, **--group**

Edit group database.

.RE  
.PP **-h**, **--help**

Display help message and exit.

.RE  
.PP **-p**, **--passwd**

Edit passwd database.

.RE  
.PP **-q**, **--quiet**

Quiet mode.

.RE  
.PP **-R**, **--root** *CHROOT\_DIR*

Apply changes in the *CHROOT\_DIR* directory and use the configuration files from the *CHROOT\_DIR* directory. Only absolute paths are supported. No SELINUX support.

.RE  
.PP **-s**, **--shadow**

Edit shadow or gshadow database.

.RE

.SH "ENVIRONMENT"

.PP **VISUAL**

Editor to be used.

.RE  
.PP **EDITOR**

Editor to be used if **VISUAL** is not set.

.RE

.SH "FILES"

.PP /etc/group

Group account information.

.RE  
.PP /etc/gshadow

Secure group account information.

.RE  
.PP /etc/passwd

User account information.

.RE  
.PP /etc/shadow

Secure user account information.

.RE

.SH "SEE ALSO"

.PP [**vi**(1)](/man/os/shadow/vi.1), [**group**(5)](/man/os/shadow/group.5), [**gshadow**(5)](/man/os/shadow/gshadow.5) , [**passwd**(5)](/man/os/shadow/passwd.5), , [**shadow**(5)](/man/os/shadow/shadow.5).

10/26/2026 shadow-utils 4.20.3

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Document: vigr(8) from shadow 4.20.3-r2 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://github.com/shadow-maint/shadow