---
name: "makedbm"
section: "8"
platform: "openbsd"
package: "man"
version: "8.0-current-20261101"
release: "OpenBSD 8.0-current (2026-11-01)"
platforms: ["linux", "openbsd"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/makedbm"
---

# makedbm(8)

create a YP database

## NAME

**makedbm** – create a YP database

## SYNOPSIS

**makedbm** \[**-blsUu**\] \[**-d** *yp\_domain\_name*\] \[**-i** *yp\_input\_file*\] \[**-m** *yp\_master\_name*\] \[**-o** *yp\_output\_file*\] *infile* *outfile*

## DESCRIPTION

**makedbm** is the utility in YP that creates the database file containing the YP map. The database format is a slightly modified version of ndbm.

The options are as follows:

- **-b**

  Interdomain. Include an entry in the database informing a YP server to use DNS to get information about unknown hosts. This option will only have effect on the two maps hosts.byname and hosts.byaddr.

- **-d** *yp\_domain\_name*

  Include an entry in the map with the key YP\_DOMAIN\_NAME and the argument as value.

- **-i** *yp\_input\_file*

  Include an entry in the map with the key YP\_INPUT\_FILE and the argument as value.

- **-l**

  Lowercase. Convert all keys to lower case before adding them to the YP database.

- **-m** *yp\_master\_name*

  Include an entry in the map with the key YP\_MASTER\_NAME and the argument as value.

- **-o** *yp\_output\_file*

  Include an entry in the map with the key YP\_OUTPUT\_FILE and the argument as value.

- **-s**

  Secure map. Include an entry in the database informing [ypxfr(8)](/ypxfr/8.md) and [ypserv(8)](/ypserv/8.md) that the YP map is going to be handled as secure.

- **-U**

  Same as **-u** but also try the [hash(3)](/hash/3.md) format.

- **-u**

  Dump a database to standard output.

## SEE ALSO

[dbopen(3)](/dbopen/3.md), [Makefile.yp(8)](/Makefile.yp/8.md), [yp(8)](/yp/8.md), [ypserv(8)](/ypserv/8.md), [ypxfr(8)](/ypxfr/8.md)

## AUTHORS

Mats O Jansson ⟨*moj@stacken.kth.se*⟩