[UCLA-LUG] Changing your login shell

[Roberto Congiu]

On 25 Feb 00, at 11:20, Michael Daines wrote:

> This is actually a UNIX questions, since linux (at least my version 
> at home) has the chsh command.
> 
> How do I change my login shell (this is for an account I have).  My 
> current default is ksh, but if I wanted to switch it to tcsh, how 
> would I go about that.  The linux reference material I have say to 
> use chsh, but that doesn't exist in the UNIX I am using.

no chsh ? Which Unix are you using ?

>  If I just 
> copy the chsh program over to my bin file and run it, will that do 
> the trick, or do I need to modify or add a . file in my home 
> directory, or what?  I want to ask before I do anything, because a 
> mistake here could make it so that I cannot even log in.
> 
That won't work. The chsh has to change the passwd file so 
has to have the SETUID bit set (to gain temporarily root 
permissions).
If you don't have the access to a root login in that machine you 
cannot simply add chsh that way.