chage

Additional Notes

chage manages password aging: expiration date, minimum age, maximum age, warning days, and inactive days.

It is useful for account policy checks and forcing password changes.

Syntax

chage [options] user

Parameters

• options: Flags that change how chage behaves.
• user: User account affected by the command.
• group: Group account affected by the command.
• file: File or directory whose ownership, mode, or access policy is being changed.

Common Options

• -l USER: List password aging information.
• -d DATE: Set last password change date.
• -E DATE: Set account expiration date.
• -M DAYS: Set maximum password age.
• -m DAYS: Set minimum password age.
• -W DAYS: Set warning days before expiration.
• -I DAYS: Set inactive days after password expiration.

Examples

chage -l rani

Show password aging policy for rani.

sudo chage -d 0 rani

Force password change at next login.

sudo chage -M 90 -W 7 rani

Set maximum password age to 90 days and warning to 7 days.

sudo chage -E 2026-12-31 tempuser

Expire an account on a specific date.

Practical Notes

• passwd -e USER is a simpler way to force a password change.
• Account expiration and password expiration are different.
• Use this carefully on service accounts.
• Password aging data is stored in /etc/shadow.