NETID(5)

💅 NETID(5) — the YP network credential file, bestie ✨

okay so before we even start: this is the netid page from the File Formats Manual section, and honestly? she's a rare little queen. let's get into it 🎀

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🌸 NAME 🌸

netid — the YP network credential file. that's it, that's the vibe. 💖

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

okay so real talk: files in netid format are rare. like, genuinely rare, not "rare" in a cute way. one of them lives in the YP map netid.byname — that's her home 🏠

the format is rather simple, ngl. each row consists of two items: a key and a value. no cap. when created by mknetid(8) there are three types of records. THREE. let's go through them 👑

🦋 the first type

this one's all about which GIDs a UID has:

unix.⟨uid⟩@⟨yp-domain⟩ ⟨uid⟩:⟨gid⟩,⟨gid⟩

periodt. that's the UID → GID situation 💅

🦋 the second type

this one's got information about hosts:

unix.⟨hostname⟩@⟨yp-domain⟩ 0:⟨hostname⟩

host info, slay 🫶

🦋 the third type

the third type refers to records from a netid file other than the two types above. yep — the leftovers have a category too, and honestly? iconic of them. 🙈

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🎀 FILES 🎀

• /etc/netid — for lines not generated automatically by mknetid(8) ✨

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🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

a configuration file might look like the following — main character energy fr fr:

unix.10714@kaka 10714:400,10
unix.jodie@kaka 0:jodie

like?? jodie said "i'm in this file" and honestly good for her 💜

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• mknetid(8)
• yp(8)

go read those too, iykyk 👑

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💖 AUTHORS 💖

• Mats O Jansson <moj@stacken.kth.se> — the legend who made this happen 🫡

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⭐ cute little sign-off: this was from the Debian flavour of the page, dated January 13, 1996, and yes the date is older than most of us but she still ate. bye bestie! 💅✨