getent

Retrieve entries from Name Service Switch libraries.

Syntax

getent [options] database [key ...]

Options

-h, --help     # Display help information
-i, --no-idn   # Disable IDN encoding in lookups
-s, --service  # Service to use for lookups
-V, --version  # Display version information

The database can be any of the supported databases, such as passwd, group, hosts, services, protocols, or networks.

Examples

1. View all known accounts:

getent passwd

This lists all account information from the password database (e.g., /etc/passwd).

2. View information for a specific account:

getent passwd someuser

This lists information for the specified user, such as username, UID, GID, home directory, and shell.

3. View DNS records for a specific host:

getent hosts example.com

This lists the host database entry for example.com, including its IP address.

4. View service information:

getent services http

This lists the service port and protocol for the http service.

5. View a specific group:

getent group sudo

This lists the members of the sudo group.