Arch Linux

Aton

Member

Registered: 2013-04-02

Posts: 70

How to handle home directory change in /etc/passwd.pacnew?

Hey,

the recent update of the filesystem package had a change in /etc/passwd that
I am not sure how to handle:

daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:/usr/bin/nologin

was changed to

daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/:/usr/bin/nologin

As you can see, the home directory of daemon was changed from /sbin to /.
Should I merge that change into my /etc/passwd?

Scimmia

Fellow

Registered: 2012-09-01

Posts: 13,727

Re: How to handle home directory change in /etc/passwd.pacnew?

I would, but I doubt it really matters.

alphaniner

Member

From: Ancapistan

Registered: 2010-07-12

Posts: 2,810

Re: How to handle home directory change in /etc/passwd.pacnew?

Check out this thread, particularly Leonid.I's posts.

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But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain - that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is unfit to exist.
-Lysander Spooner

Aton

Member

Registered: 2013-04-02

Posts: 70

Re: How to handle home directory change in /etc/passwd.pacnew?

I have read that thread but I am not quite sure that it applies to
this situation.

Leonid.I basically says that

[...] if your group/passwd files are functional before the update -- keep them as is
(unless you wan to do cosmetic changes)

Now, adding info to the GECOS field or substituting /sbin with /usr/bin
doesn't really alter the behaviour of the system, but changing a user's
home directory seems a little bit more fundamental to me.

alphaniner

Member

From: Ancapistan

Registered: 2010-07-12

Posts: 2,810

Re: How to handle home directory change in /etc/passwd.pacnew?

Sorry, I blindly assumed you were concerned about the recent changes to the shell fields.

There's no explanation of the homedir change in the commit that applies it, so I have no idea.

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But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain - that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is unfit to exist.
-Lysander Spooner

R00KIE

Forum Fellow

From: Between a computer and a chair

Registered: 2008-09-14

Posts: 4,734

Re: How to handle home directory change in /etc/passwd.pacnew?

I guess you can see it this way, if you installed a fresh system then the home directory would be / so I suppose you can change it.

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R00KIE
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