LDAPMODIFY(1) General Commands Manual LDAPMODIFY(1)
NAME
ldapmodify, ldapadd - LDAP modify entry and LDAP add entry tools
SYNOPSIS
ldapmodify [-V[V]] [-d debuglevel] [-n] [-v] [-a] [-c] [-f file]
[-j lineno] [-S file] [-M[M]] [-x] [-D binddn] [-W] [-w passwd]
[-y passwdfile] [-H ldapuri] [-P {2|3}] [-e [!]ext[=extparam]]
[-E [!]ext[=extparam]] [-o opt[=optparam]] [-O security-properties] [-I]
[-Q] [-N] [-U authcid] [-R realm] [-X authzid] [-Y mech] [-Z[Z]]
ldapadd [-V[V]] [-d debuglevel] [-n] [-v] [-c] [-f file] [-j lineno]
[-S file] [-M[M]] [-x] [-D binddn] [-W] [-w passwd] [-y passwdfile]
[-H ldapuri] [-P {2|3}] [-e [!]ext[=extparam]] [-E [!]ext[=extparam]]
[-o opt[=optparam]] [-O security-properties] [-I] [-Q] [-N] [-U authcid]
[-R realm] [-X authzid] [-Y mech] [-Z[Z]]
DESCRIPTION
ldapmodify is a shell-accessible interface to the ldap_add_ext(3),
ldap_modify_ext(3), ldap_delete_ext(3) and ldap_rename(3). library
calls. ldapadd is implemented as a hard link to the ldapmodify tool.
When invoked as ldapadd the -a (add new entry) flag is turned on auto-
matically.
ldapmodify opens a connection to an LDAP server, binds, and modifies or
adds entries. The entry information is read from standard input or from
file through the use of the -f option.
OPTIONS
-V[V] Print version info. If -VV is given, only the version informa-
tion is printed.
-d debuglevel
Set the LDAP debugging level to debuglevel. ldapmodify must be
compiled with LDAP_DEBUG defined for this option to have any ef-
fect.
-n Show what would be done, but don't actually modify entries. Use-
ful for debugging in conjunction with -v.
-v Use verbose mode, with many diagnostics written to standard out-
put.
-a Add new entries. The default for ldapmodify is to modify exist-
ing entries. If invoked as ldapadd, this flag is always set.
-c Continuous operation mode. Errors are reported, but ldapmodify
will continue with modifications. The default is to exit after
reporting an error.
-f file
Read the entry modification information from file instead of from
standard input.
-j lineno
Jump to the specified line number in the LDIF file before pro-
cessing any entries. This allows a load that was aborted due to
errors in the input LDIF to be resumed after the errors are cor-
rected.
-S file
Add or change records which were skipped due to an error are
written to file and the error message returned by the server is
added as a comment. Most useful in conjunction with -c.
-M[M] Enable manage DSA IT control. -MM makes control critical.
-x Use simple authentication instead of SASL.
-D binddn
Use the Distinguished Name binddn to bind to the LDAP directory.
For SASL binds, the server is expected to ignore this value.
-W Prompt for simple authentication. This is used instead of speci-
fying the password on the command line.
-w passwd
Use passwd as the password for simple authentication.
-y passwdfile
Use complete contents of passwdfile as the password for simple
authentication.
-H ldapuri
Specify URI(s) referring to the ldap server(s); only the proto-
col/host/port fields are allowed; a list of URI, separated by
whitespace or commas is expected.
-P {2|3}
Specify the LDAP protocol version to use.
-e [!]ext[=extparam]
-E [!]ext[=extparam]
Specify general extensions with -e and modify extensions with -E.
´!´ indicates criticality.
General extensions:
[!]assert=<filter> (an RFC 4515 Filter)
!authzid=<authzid> ("dn:<dn>" or "u:<user>")
[!]bauthzid (RFC 3829 authzid control)
[!]chaining[=<resolve>[/<cont>]]
[!]manageDSAit
[!]noop
ppolicy
[!]postread[=<attrs>] (a comma-separated attribute list)
[!]preread[=<attrs>] (a comma-separated attribute list)
[!]relax
sessiontracking[=<username>]
abandon,cancel,ignore (SIGINT sends abandon/cancel,
or ignores response; if critical, doesn't wait for SIGINT.
not really controls)
Modify extensions:
[!]txn[=abort|commit]
-o opt[=optparam]]
Specify any ldap.conf(5) option or one of the following:
nettimeout=<timeout> (in seconds, or "none" or "max")
ldif_wrap=<width> (in columns, or "no" for no wrapping)
-O security-properties
Specify SASL security properties.
-I Enable SASL Interactive mode. Always prompt. Default is to
prompt only as needed.
-Q Enable SASL Quiet mode. Never prompt.
-N Do not use reverse DNS to canonicalize SASL host name.
-U authcid
Specify the authentication ID for SASL bind. The form of the ID
depends on the actual SASL mechanism used.
-R realm
Specify the realm of authentication ID for SASL bind. The form of
the realm depends on the actual SASL mechanism used.
-X authzid
Specify the requested authorization ID for SASL bind. authzid
must be one of the following formats: dn:<distinguished name> or
u:<username>
-Y mech
Specify the SASL mechanism to be used for authentication. If it's
not specified, the program will choose the best mechanism the
server knows.
-Z[Z] Issue StartTLS (Transport Layer Security) extended operation. If
you use -ZZ, the command will require the operation to be suc-
cessful.
INPUT FORMAT
The contents of file (or standard input if no -f flag is given on the
command line) must conform to the format defined in ldif(5) (LDIF as de-
fined in RFC 2849).
EXAMPLES
Assuming that the file /tmp/entrymods exists and has the contents:
dn: cn=Modify Me,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
replace: mail
mail: modme@example.com
-
add: title
title: Grand Poobah
-
add: jpegPhoto
jpegPhoto:< file:///tmp/modme.jpeg
-
delete: description
-
the command:
ldapmodify -f /tmp/entrymods
will replace the contents of the "Modify Me" entry's mail attribute with
the value "modme@example.com", add a title of "Grand Poobah", and the
contents of the file "/tmp/modme.jpeg" as a jpegPhoto, and completely
remove the description attribute.
Assuming that the file /tmp/newentry exists and has the contents:
dn: cn=Barbara Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: person
cn: Barbara Jensen
cn: Babs Jensen
sn: Jensen
title: the world's most famous mythical manager
mail: bjensen@example.com
uid: bjensen
the command:
ldapadd -f /tmp/newentry
will add a new entry for Babs Jensen, using the values from the file
/tmp/newentry.
Assuming that the file /tmp/entrymods exists and has the contents:
dn: cn=Barbara Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: delete
the command:
ldapmodify -f /tmp/entrymods
will remove Babs Jensen's entry.
DIAGNOSTICS
Exit status is zero if no errors occur. Errors result in a non-zero
exit status and a diagnostic message being written to standard error.
SEE ALSO
ldapadd(1), ldapdelete(1), ldapmodrdn(1), ldapsearch(1), ldap.conf(5),
ldap(3), ldap_add_ext(3), ldap_delete_ext(3), ldap_modify_ext(3),
ldap_modrdn_ext(3), ldif(5).
AUTHOR
The OpenLDAP Project <http://www.openldap.org/>
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
OpenLDAP Software is developed and maintained by The OpenLDAP Project
<http://www.openldap.org/>. OpenLDAP Software is derived from the Uni-
versity of Michigan LDAP 3.3 Release.
OpenLDAP 2.6.10+dfsg-1 2025/05/22 LDAPMODIFY(1)
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