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

# fgetpwent(3)

get password file entry

## NAME

fgetpwent - get password file entry

## LIBRARY

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

## SYNOPSIS

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

**struct passwd \*fgetpwent(FILE \****stream***);**

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

**fgetpwent**():

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

## DESCRIPTION

The **fgetpwent**() function returns a pointer to a structure containing the broken out fields of a line in the file *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/passwd* (see [**passwd**(5)](/passwd/5.md)).

The *passwd* structure is defined in *\<pwd.h\>* as follows:

```
struct passwd {
    char   *pw_name;       /* username */
    char   *pw_passwd;     /* user password */
    uid_t   pw_uid;        /* user ID */
    gid_t   pw_gid;        /* group ID */
    char   *pw_gecos;      /* real name */
    char   *pw_dir;        /* home directory */
    char   *pw_shell;      /* shell program */
};
```

## RETURN VALUE

The **fgetpwent**() function returns a pointer to a *passwd* 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 *passwd* structure.

## FILES

- */etc/passwd*

  password database file

## ATTRIBUTES

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

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

## STANDARDS

None.

## HISTORY

SVr4.

## SEE ALSO

[**endpwent**(3)](/endpwent/3.md), [**fgetpwent\_r**(3)](/fgetpwent_r/3.md), [**fopen**(3)](/fopen/3.md), [**getpw**(3)](/getpw/3.md), [**getpwent**(3)](/getpwent/3.md), [**getpwnam**(3)](/getpwnam/3.md), [**getpwuid**(3)](/getpwuid/3.md), [**putpwent**(3)](/putpwent/3.md), [**setpwent**(3)](/setpwent/3.md), [**passwd**(5)](/passwd/5.md)