groupmod [options] GROUP
Options
-g, --gidGID
The group ID of the givenGROUPwill be changed to GID.
The value of GID must be a non-negativedecimalinteger. This value must be unique, unless the-ooption is used.
Users who use the group as primary group will be updated to keep the group as their primary group.
Any files that have the old group ID and must continue to belong toGROUP, must have their group ID changed manually.
No checks will be performed with regard to the GID_MIN, GID_MAX, SYS_GID_MIN, or SYS_GID_MAX from/etc/login.defs.
-h,--help
Display help message and exit.
-n,--new-nameNEW_GROUP
The name of the group will be changed fromGROUPtoNEW_GROUP.
-o,--non-unique
When used with the-goption, allow to change the group GID to a non-unique value.
-p,--passwordPASSWORD
Theencryptedpassword, as returned by crypt.
Note:This option is not recommended because the password (or encrypted password) will be visible by users listing the processes.
You should make sure the password respects the system's password policy.
-R,--rootCHROOT_DIR
Apply changes in theCHROOT_DIRdirectory and use the configuration files from theCHROOT_DIRdirectory. See alsochroot.
Configuration
The following configuration variables in/etc/login.defschange the behavior of this tool:
MAX_MEMBERS_PER_GROUP(number)
Maximum members per group entry. When the maximum is reached, a new group entry (line) is started in/etc/group(with the same name, same password, and same GID).
The default value is0, meaning that there are no limits in the number of members in a group.
This feature (split group) permits to limit the length of lines in the group file. This is useful to make sure that lines for NIS groups are not larger than 1024characters.
If you need to enforce such limit, you can use25.
Note:split groups may not be supported by all tools (even in the Shadow toolsuite). You should not use this variable unless you really need it.
Exit Values
The groupmod command exits with the following values:
0
success
2
invalid command syntax
3
invalid argument to option
4
specified group doesn't exist
6
specified group doesn't exist
9
group name already in use
10
can't update group file