On Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, chfn modifies a user’s “finger” information. This information is stored in the file /etc/passwd, and includes the user’s real name, work room, work phone number, and home phone number.
This information can be viewed by other users with the finger command.
Syntax
chfn [-f full_name] [-r room_no] [-w work_ph] [-h home_ph] [-o other] [user]
Examples
chfn
Running the command without any options enables the user to change all the user information.
- Syntax
- Examples
- Related commands
- Linux commands help
Related commands
chsh — Change login shell.usermod — Modify a user’s account.passwd — Change a user’s password.vipw — Safely edit the password file.
If you’re attempting to change the actual username and not just the description of the user, you may want to edit the password file directly; see the vipw command for more information.
