---
name: "fgetgrent"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "man-pages"
version: "6.19-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/fgetgrent"
---

# fgetgrent(3)

get group file entry

## NAME

fgetgrent - get group file entry

## LIBRARY

Standard C library (*libc*, *-lc*)

## SYNOPSIS

```
#include <stdio.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <grp.h>
```

**struct group \*fgetgrent(FILE \****stream***);**

Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see [**feature\_test\_macros**(7)](/feature_test_macros/7.md)):

**fgetgrent**():

```
    Since glibc 2.19:
        _DEFAULT_SOURCE
    glibc 2.19 and earlier:
        _SVID_SOURCE
```

## DESCRIPTION

The **fgetgrent**() function returns a pointer to a structure containing the group information from the file referred to by *stream*. The first time it is called it returns the first entry; thereafter, it returns successive entries. The file referred to by *stream* must have the same format as */etc/group* (see [**group**(5)](/group/5.md)).

The *group* structure is defined in *\<grp.h\>* as follows:

```
struct group {
    char   *gr_name;        /* group name */
    char   *gr_passwd;      /* group password */
    gid_t   gr_gid;         /* group ID */
    char  **gr_mem;         /* NULL-terminated array of pointers
                               to names of group members */
};
```

## RETURN VALUE

The **fgetgrent**() function returns a pointer to a *group* structure, or NULL if there are no more entries or an error occurs. In the event of an error, *errno* is set to indicate the error.

## ERRORS

- **ENOMEM**

  Insufficient memory to allocate *group* structure.

## ATTRIBUTES

For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see [**attributes**(7)](/attributes/7.md).

| | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Interface** | **Attribute** | **Value** |
| **fgetgrent**() | Thread safety | MT-Unsafe race:fgetgrent |

## STANDARDS

None.

## HISTORY

SVr4.

## SEE ALSO

[**endgrent**(3)](/endgrent/3.md), [**fgetgrent\_r**(3)](/fgetgrent_r/3.md), [**fopen**(3)](/fopen/3.md), [**getgrent**(3)](/getgrent/3.md), [**getgrgid**(3)](/getgrgid/3.md), [**getgrnam**(3)](/getgrnam/3.md), [**putgrent**(3)](/putgrent/3.md), [**setgrent**(3)](/setgrent/3.md), [**group**(5)](/group/5.md)