---
name: "group"
section: "5"
platform: "linux"
package: "man-pages"
version: "6.19-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux", "freebsd", "openbsd", "macos"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/group/5"
---

# group(5)

user group file

## NAME

group - user group file

## DESCRIPTION

The */etc/group* file is a text file that defines the groups on the system. There is one entry per line, with the following format:

```
group_name:password:GID:user_list
```

The fields are as follows:

- *group\_name*

  the name of the group.

- *password*

  the (encrypted) group password. If this field is empty, no password is needed.

- *GID*

  the numeric group ID.

- *user\_list*

  a list of the usernames that are members of this group, separated by commas.

## FILES

*/etc/group*

## BUGS

As the 4.2BSD [**initgroups**(3)](/initgroups/3.md) man page says: no one seems to keep */etc/group* up-to-date.

## SEE ALSO

[**chgrp**(1)](/chgrp/1.md), [**gpasswd**(1)](/gpasswd/1.md), [**groups**(1)](/groups/1.md), [**login**(1)](/login/1.md), [**newgrp**(1)](/newgrp/1.md), [**sg**(1)](/sg/1.md), [**getgrent**(3)](/getgrent/3.md), [**getgrnam**(3)](/getgrnam/3.md), [**gshadow**(5)](/gshadow/5.md), [**passwd**(5)](/passwd/5.md), [**vigr**(8)](/vigr/8.md)