chsh

Linux · Users and permissions · reference only

What it does

Changes an account's login shell. It only accepts shells listed in /etc/shells.

Syntax

chsh [opciones] [usuario]

Options and parameters

• -s shell

  Sets the login shell.

• -l

  Lists the allowed shells in /etc/shells.

• -h

  Shows help and exits.

• -V

  Shows the version and exits.

• usuario

  Account to modify; only root can change other users'.

Usage examples

• chsh -l

  Shows which shells you can choose.

• chsh -s /bin/zsh

  Changes your shell to zsh from the next login.

• sudo chsh -s /bin/bash ana

  As root, changes the shell of the ana account.

• getent passwd ana | cut -d: -f7

  Checks the shell registered for ana.

Notes and common mistakes

• The change applies at the next login, not in the open session.
• If the shell is not in /etc/shells the command rejects it.

Related commands

• addgroup
• adduser
• chgrp
• chmod
• chown
• delgroup