The chage command

The chage command modifies date policies for a user's passwords. It has the following syntax:

The following paragraphs describe the options you can use:

• -m days: Specifies the minimum number of days allowed between password changes.
• -M days: Specifies the maximum number of days allowed between password changes.
• -d date: The date of the last password change.
• -E date: The date on which the account will expire.
• -W days: The number of days prior to the password expiring that the user will be warned the password is about to expire.
• -I days: The number of days of inactivity after the password has expired that the account is locked out. Specify 0 to disable this feature.

Here's an example that sets an account to expire on Halloween 2016:

TipIf you specify a username but no other options, you're prompted to enter each option. This is a lot easier than trying to remember all the switches!