[vox-tech] Can a username be changed?

[Shawn P. Neugebauer]

On Sunday 09 February 2003 01:29 pm, Bill Kendrick wrote:
> Is there a way to change a user's login name under Unix?
>
> Is it safe enough to simply rename their home directory and
> edit their entry in /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow?
>
> Or am I dealing with dangerous powers, and would be safe enough
> creating a brand new user and deleting the old one?

this should not be a big deal.  the numerical user id is what's important.
if the UID doesn't change you won't have a problem.  use vipw to
change username in /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow.  that alone would
make the change--try it then ls the user's directory and you'll see the new
username show up.  the home directory need only change as a matter
of convenience and consistency (i.e., users may expect their home
directory to be /home/username).  if the username is hard-coded in
some configuration file someplace, you'll have to change it, too, of course,
but this is unlikely.

shawn.