PAM_LASTLOG2(8)

💅 pam_lastlog2(8) — the PAM module that tells you when you were last here ✨

okay bestie, this one lives in the System Administration part of the manual, and it's literally just here to be like "hey girl, you last logged in then" 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

pam_lastlog2 — a PAM module to display the date of your last login 🌸

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

pam_lastlog2.so [debug] [silent] [silent_if=<services>]
[database=<file>]

no cap, that's the whole thing. short and slay 💅

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so pam_lastlog2 is a PAM module whose whole job is to show a little line of info about the last login of the user. it keeps all that tea stored in the /var/lib/lastlog/lastlog2.db database file. that's the vault. 🔐

and the way that it's better than pam_lastlog? two things, periodt:

• it's Y2038 safe — no Y2K-ass sequel energy here, she'll still be fine after 2038 💀
• it uses sqlite3 to store the information ✨

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💖 OPTIONS 💖

• debug — print debug information. she's telling you everything, main character transparency 🗣️
• silent — avoid all messages except errors, and don't inform the user about any previous login. she'll only update the /var/lib/lastlog/lastlog2.db database. lowkey mysterious of her 🙈
• silent_if=<services> — the argument services is a comma separated list of PAM services. if a service is listed here, the last login message will not be shown. so it's like a lil guest list — if you're on it, you don't get the message 🎀
• database=<file> — use file instead of /var/lib/lastlog/lastlog2.db. your database, your rules, bestie 💅

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🌈 MODULE TYPES PROVIDED 🌈

the session module type is provided. that's the one doing both jobs: displaying the information about the last login and updating the lastlog file. she's multitasking, she's booked, she's iconic 👑

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⭐ RETURN VALUES ⭐

• PAM_SUCCESS — everything was successful. ate, no crumbs ✨
• PAM_SERVICE_ERR — internal service module error. this includes error reading from or writing to the database. the vault said no 😭
• PAM_USER_UNKNOWN — user not known. who is she? never heard of her 💀
• PAM_IGNORE — returned by service types which do nothing. she's literally just standing there, serving nothing 🫶

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🌸 EXAMPLES 🌸

add the following line to e.g. /etc/pam.d/login to display the last login time of a user:

session  optional pam_lastlog2.so silent_if=gdm,gdm-password

ok so important note: it is up to the administrator to decide if the user can login (optional/required) when pam_lastlog2 has returned an error. that's a you decision, bestie, not a module decision 🎀

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

pam_lastlog2 was written by Thorsten Kukuk <kukuk@suse.com>. thank you for your service, king 🫡💜

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🧚 SEE ALSO 🧚

liblastlog2(3), pam.conf(5), pam.d(5), pam(8)

go read those too, iykyk 📚

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🐛 REPORTING BUGS 🐛

for bug reports, use the issue tracker <https://github.com/util-linux/util-linux/issues>. tell them everything, don't be shy 💅

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🌟 AVAILABILITY 🌟

the pam_lastlog2 library is part of the util-linux package since version 2.40. it can be downloaded from Linux Kernel Archive <https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/>. go get her 🛍️✨

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! this one is from util-linux 2.42.4, dated 2026-09-21 — mwah, love that for us 💖🎀🦋