README.md
base-passwd for DEBIAN
----------------------
This package supplies the "master" copies of /etc/passwd and /etc/group,
in /usr/share/base-passwd. It also supplies the utility "update-passwd",
which automatically makes sure that uids and gids in the 0-99 range on
your system are consistant with the Debian master copies. This means
that all entries in the masterfiles in that range have to be present on
your system, and only those entries. The reason for not allowing other
entries is that Debian reserves that range for future use.
All packages assume that the users and groups listed in those
master-files are always present on a system. If they are not present for
some reason they may break unexpectedly. To ensure your system is
correct you can use the update-passwd utility to check it and optionally
make the necessary changes.
There are some exceptions to this:
* root is never removed or changed. If it doesn't exist a root-account will
be added though.
* the homedirectory for the ftp-user is preserved, and it is neither added
nor removed automatically since this can affect how FTP daemons handle
anonymous access
* the homedirectory for the www-data is preserved
* if a user or group exists but with an uid outside our reserved ranged
we don't change it
The following uid/gid pairs have been allocated in the static range
60000-64999. They are created by their respective packages, and are listed
here for reference.