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#### 29.13.1 The Data Structure that Describes a User

The functions and data structures for accessing the system user database are declared in the header file `pwd.h`.

— Data Type: struct passwd

> The `passwd` data structure is used to hold information about entries in the system user data base. It has at least the following members:

> `char *pw_name`
>   The user's login name.
> `char *pw_passwd.`
>   The encrypted password string.
> `uid_t pw_uid`
>   The user ID number.
> `gid_t pw_gid`
>   The user's default group ID number.
> `char *pw_gecos`
>   A string typically containing the user's real name, and possibly other information such as a phone number.
> `char *pw_dir`
>   The user's home directory, or initial working directory. This might be a null pointer, in which case the interpretation is system-dependent.
> `char *pw_shell`
>   The user's default shell, or the initial program run when the user logs in. This might be a null pointer, indicating that the system default should be used.