# lastlog

## NAME



           lastlog - reports the most recent login of all users or of a given
           user
    


## SYNOPSIS



    
           **lastlog**[_options_]
    


## DESCRIPTION



           **lastlog** formats and prints the contents of the last login log
           /var/log/lastlog file. The _login-name_ , _port_ , and _last login time_
           will be printed. The default (no flags) causes lastlog entries to
           be printed, sorted by their order in /etc/passwd.
    


## OPTIONS



           The options which apply to the **lastlog** command are:
    
           **-b** , **--before** _DAYS_
               Print only lastlog records older than _DAYS_.
    
           **-C** , **--clear**
               Clear lastlog record of a user. This option can be used only
               together with **-u**(**--user**)).
    
           **-h** , **--help**
               Display help message and exit.
    
           **-R** , **--root** _CHROOT_DIR_
               Apply changes in the _CHROOT_DIR_ directory and use the
               configuration files from the _CHROOT_DIR_ directory. Only
               absolute paths are supported.
    
           **-S** , **--set**
               Set lastlog record of a user to the current time. This option
               can be used only together with **-u**(**--user**)).
    
           **-t** , **--time** _DAYS_
               Print the lastlog records more recent than _DAYS_.
    
           **-u** , **--user** _LOGIN_ |_RANGE_
               Print the lastlog record of the specified user(s).
    
               The users can be specified by a login name, a numerical user
               ID, or a _RANGE_ of users. This _RANGE_ of users can be specified
               with a min and max values (_UID_MIN-UID_MAX_), a max value
               (_-UID_MAX_), or a min value (_UID_MIN-_).
    
           **-a**
               Print the lastlog records of the users that have logged in at
               least once. Excludes records for users with '**Never logged
               in**'.
    
           If the user has never logged in the message _** Never logged in**_
           will be displayed instead of the port and time.
    
           Only the entries for the current users of the system will be
           displayed. Other entries may exist for users that were deleted
           previously.
    


## NOTE



           The lastlog file is a database which contains info on the last
           login of each user. You should not rotate it. It is a sparse file,
           so its size on the disk is usually much smaller than the one shown
           by "**ls -l** " (which can indicate a really big file if you have in
           passwd users with a high UID). You can display its real size with
           "**ls -s** ".
    


## CONFIGURATION



           The following configuration variables in /etc/login.defs change
           the behavior of this tool:
    
           **LASTLOG_UID_MAX**(number)
               Highest user ID number for which the lastlog entries should be
               updated. As higher user IDs are usually tracked by remote user
               identity and authentication services there is no need to
               create a huge sparse lastlog file for them.
    
               No **LASTLOG_UID_MAX** option present in the configuration means
               that there is no user ID limit for writing lastlog entries.
    


## FILES



           /var/log/lastlog
               Database times of previous user logins.
    


## CAVEATS



           Large gaps in UID numbers will cause the lastlog program to run
           longer with no output to the screen (i.e. if in lastlog database
           there is no entries for users with UID between 170 and 800 lastlog
           will appear to hang as it processes entries with UIDs 171-799).
    
           Having high UIDs can create problems when handling the
           /var/log/lastlog with external tools. Although the actual file is
           sparse and does not use too much space, certain applications are
           not designed to identify sparse files by default and may require a
           specific option to handle them.
    


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