■ -e <expire>. Specifies the expiration date for the user account, after which the user will not be able to log on. The date can be entered using any of the formats specified in the template file /etc/datemsk, e.g., 5/9/2007 (the standard American way of referring to dates: month /day/year), or “May 9, 2007.” Note that the date that includes spaces must be quoted. The default value for the expiration date on an account is null — that is, no expiration date. This information goes into the shadow file. ■ -f <inactive>. Specifies the maximum number of days, expressed in integers, allowed between two consecutive logins; if the user does not log into the account for days more than the value of <inactive>, the account will be locked. The default for this option is 0. This information goes into the shadow file. ■ -g <group>. Specifies the primary group for the user. The group may be identified by using the character string name of the group or by using the group ID. This information goes into the passwd file. ■ -G <group>. Specifies a secondary group for the user. Multiple groups can be specified by using either the character string names or the group IDs separated by commas. A user cannot become a member of more than a maximum number of groups defined by the variable NGROUPS_MAX specified in the file /usr/include/limits.h. By default, a user may become a member of 15 secondary groups at maximum. ■ -k <skel_dir>. Specifies the directory that contains the skeleton files for initializing the user account. The files are copied from this directory to the user home directory during the creation of the account. If you give the -m option along with the -k option, the home directory will be created if it does not already exist. The default skeleton directory is /etc/skel, and if you do use the -k option to specify a new skeleton directory, it must be created before you use the useradd command. ■ -p <profile>. Specifies execution profiles, separated by commas, for the user. You will learn more about profiles further on in this book. ■ -A <authorization>. A comma-delimited list of authorizations to be assigned to this account. You will learn more about it in Chapter 14. ■ -R <role>. Specifies roles, separated by commas, for the user. You will learn more about roles in Chapter 14.
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