PAM_WTMPDB(8)

💖 PAM_WTMPDB(8) — pam_wtmpdb 💖

okay bestie, sit down, hydrate, because we're talking about the little PAM module that keeps receipts on when you log in and when you log out 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

pam_wtmpdb — a PAM module that records login and logout times of users. it's giving timekeeper. it's giving someone is watching your 3am logins 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

pam_wtmpdb.so [debug] [silent] [skip_if=<services>] [database=<file>]

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so pam_wtmpdb is a PAM module that records the login and logout information of the user. literally its whole personality. it uses /var/log/wtmp.db as its database file to store all that information, no cap 🗄️✨

and compared to some wtmp(5) implementations? this PAM module is Y2038 safe and uses sqlite3 to store the information. future-proof queen behavior, we love to see it 👑

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💅 OPTIONS 💅

• debug — print debug information. spill the tea about what's happening internally 🔍
• silent — avoid all messages except errors. quiet luxury, but for logging 🤫
• skip_if=<services> — the argument services is a comma separated list of PAM services. if a service is listed here, no wtmpdb entry is written. so basically "don't record me for these, thank you next" 🙈
• database=<file> — use file instead of /var/log/wtmp.db. you can have your db wherever you want, main character energy 🎀

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🌈 MODULE TYPES PROVIDED 🌈

the session module type is provided for updating the wtmp database with the login and logout information about an user. session only, and it ate 💖

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⭐ RETURN VALUES ⭐

• PAM_SUCCESS — everything was successful. slay, we love a clean run ✨
• PAM_SERVICE_ERR — internal service module error. this includes error reading from or writing to the database. the db said "not today" 😭
• PAM_USER_UNKNOWN — user not known. who is she? we don't know her 💀
• PAM_IGNORE — returned by service types which do nothing. it's just vibing, doing absolutely nothing, and that's valid 🧚

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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  required  pam_wtmpdb.so

one line. one line and your logins are getting documented. iconic honestly 🫶

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💜 FILES 💜

• /var/log/wtmp.db — the wtmpdb logging database file 📂
• /var/lib/wtmpdb/wtmp.db — a symbolic link from the upstream location to the above database file 🔗

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

wtmpdb(8), pam.conf(5), pam.d(5), pam(8)

go read those too, bestie, i'm not doing all the homework for you 📚

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🎀 AUTHOR 🎀

pam_wtmpdb was written by Thorsten Kukuk <kukuk@suse.com>. thank you king, we appreciate you 💖

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and that's the whole page, fr fr. no notes. periodt. 💅

this has been wtmpdb 0.75.0, dated 12/02/2025, signing off — stay safe, stay logged, stay Y2038-ready babes 🦋✨