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SteampunkWhooves

Member

Registered: 2014-05-25

Posts: 7

[SOLVED] Not sure what to do with passwd.pacnew

Hey, I have just encountered my first .pacnew file and am not sure what to do with it. I have read the wiki, but I know a lot of this has to be left up to the user, and I don't think I'm educated enough on this to solve it on my own. The passwd file looks like this:

root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/bin/false
daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/bin/false
mail:x:8:12:mail:/var/spool/mail:/bin/false
ftp:x:14:11:ftp:/srv/ftp:/bin/false
http:x:33:33:http:/srv/http:/bin/false
uuidd:x:68:68:uuidd:/:/sbin/nologin
dbus:x:81:81:dbus:/:/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:99:99:nobody:/:/bin/false
polkitd:x:102:102:Policy Kit Daemon:/:/bin/false
avahi:x:84:84:avahi:/:/bin/false
mysql:x:89:89::/var/lib/mysql:/bin/false
kdm:x:135:135::/var/lib/kdm:/bin/false
johnathan:x:1000:100::/home/johnathan:/bin/bash
git:x:999:999:git daemon user:/:/bin/bash
systemd-journal-gateway:x:191:191::/:/usr/bin/nologin
systemd-timesync:x:192:192::/:/usr/bin/nologin

and the passwd.pacnew file looks like this:

root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:/bin/false
daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/bin/false
mail:x:8:12:mail:/var/spool/mail:/bin/false
ftp:x:14:11:ftp:/srv/ftp:/bin/false
http:x:33:33:http:/srv/http:/bin/false
uuidd:x:68:68:uuidd:/:/sbin/nologin
dbus:x:81:81:dbus:/:/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:99:99:nobody:/:/bin/false
systemd-journal-gateway:x:191:191:systemd-journal-gateway:/:/bin/false
systemd-timesync:x:192:192:systemd-timesync:/:/bin/false

As you can see, there are quite different, including missing lines in the .pacnew file and a change from polkitd and avahi to systemd. Could anyone tell me what is safe to merge?

Thanks for your help!

Last edited by SteampunkWhooves (2014-05-29 22:28:40)

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,642

Re: [SOLVED] Not sure what to do with passwd.pacnew

Delete it.

Compare the two.  There is nothing new in the pacnew file.  None of the user or group IDs have changed.   Your password file has a few things that have been added (avahi, mysql).

Note that this sort of analysis must be done on a case-by-case basis.  Do not just routinely delete pacnew files.  Read them, and determine what the differences are trying to tell you.  There are good tools to help with this analysis, but you have to make the call.

---

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karol

Archivist

Registered: 2009-05-06

Posts: 25,440

Re: [SOLVED] Not sure what to do with passwd.pacnew

Next time when posting code or command output, please use [ code ] tags https://bbs.archlinux.org/help.php#bbcode

like this

It makes the code more readable and - in case of longer listings - more convenient to scroll through.

jasonwryan

Anarchist

From: .nz

Registered: 2009-05-09

Posts: 30,426

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Not sure what to do with passwd.pacnew

There is a change in the .pacnew...

systemd-journal-gateway:x:191:191:systemd-journal-gateway:/:/bin/false
systemd-timesync:x:192:192:systemd-timesync:/:/bin/false

You should use vimdiff, or a similar tool, to identify any updates to the files that you may want to pull into your current config.

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ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,642

Re: [SOLVED] Not sure what to do with passwd.pacnew

There is a change in the .pacnew...

Damn.  I missed that.

You should use vimdiff, or a similar tool, to identify any updates to the files that you may want to pull into your current config.

See my expletive above as to why Jason's advise is sound

---

Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
The shortest way to ruin a country is to give power to demagogues.— Dionysius of Halicarnassus
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

SteampunkWhooves

Member

Registered: 2014-05-25

Posts: 7

Re: [SOLVED] Not sure what to do with passwd.pacnew

Thank you all. I've added the new info and deleted the .pacnew file, so I think that should take care of everything.

I'll make sure to use [ code ] tags in the future, thanks for the advice, karol:)

twelveeighty

Member

Registered: 2011-09-04

Posts: 1,452

Re: [SOLVED] Not sure what to do with passwd.pacnew

I know this thread is marked [SOLVED], but in my case, upon close inspection, I noticed also that the uuidd user was changed in .pacnew today, in a very subtle way and the change probably won't matter anyway, I believe the changed field is the description for the user, but still, for completeness:

old:

uuidd:x:68:68:uuid:/:/sbin/nologin

new:

uuidd:x:68:68:uuidd:/:/sbin/nologin

Notice the extra "d".

amish

Member

Registered: 2014-05-10

Posts: 513

Re: [SOLVED] Not sure what to do with passwd.pacnew

There is a change in the .pacnew...

systemd-journal-gateway:x:191:191:systemd-journal-gateway:/:/bin/false
systemd-timesync:x:192:192:systemd-timesync:/:/bin/false

You should use vimdiff, or a similar tool, to identify any updates to the files that you may want to pull into your current config.

I think such changes should also be announced on Arch News / RSS
i.e. https://www.archlinux.org/news/

So that users know that there are lines to be imported. (Atleast for filesystem package if not other packages)

EDIT:
I notice that those two users are already there in my system (in both passwd and shadow). So somewhere update already added those users. That is why possibly there was no announcement on Arch News.

But those new users are NOT in *new* shadow. IS IT A BUG? i.e. if users are in passwd, they should in shadow as well right?

Last edited by amish (2014-06-07 06:16:52)

Scimmia

Fellow

Registered: 2012-09-01

Posts: 13,727

Re: [SOLVED] Not sure what to do with passwd.pacnew

People seem to think that there needs to be a news item for every little thing they have to do manually. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. Pacman warns you that it installed a pacnew file, if you're not able to recognize that and merge it yourself, you need to take a serious look at your choice of distro.

amish

Member

Registered: 2014-05-10

Posts: 513

Re: [SOLVED] Not sure what to do with passwd.pacnew

Hmm there are already few people in this thread who overlooked this. Change related to /etc/passwd is very serious issue.

I agree that not every change requires an announcement.  May be not required this time because possibly systemd update added the users already.

I am just giving an opinion. So no offence but there is no need to go offensive and ask to change my distro choice. Peace.