You want to write a script that lists all users who have a valid login shell (not /usr/sbin/nologin or /bin/false) by reading /etc/passwd. Which command snippet correctly filters these users?

hard📝 Application Q15 of 15

Linux CLI - Users and Groups

You want to write a script that lists all users who have a valid login shell (not /usr/sbin/nologin or /bin/false) by reading /etc/passwd. Which command snippet correctly filters these users?

Aawk -F':' '$7 != "/usr/sbin/nologin" && $7 != "/bin/false" {print $1}' /etc/passwd

Bgrep -v '/usr/sbin/nologin' /etc/shadow | cut -d':' -f1

Ccat /etc/passwd | grep '/bin/bash' | awk '{print $1}'

Dsed '/nologin/d' /etc/passwd | cut -d':' -f7

Step-by-Step Solution

Solution:

Step 1: Identify shell field in /etc/passwd
The 7th field in /etc/passwd is the user's login shell. We want to exclude /usr/sbin/nologin and /bin/false.
Step 2: Analyze each option
awk -F':' '$7 != "/usr/sbin/nologin" && $7 != "/bin/false" {print $1}' /etc/passwd uses awk with field separator ':' and filters out unwanted shells, printing usernames (field 1). grep -v '/usr/sbin/nologin' /etc/shadow | cut -d':' -f1 wrongly reads /etc/shadow and uses grep -v incorrectly. cat /etc/passwd | grep '/bin/bash' | awk '{print $1}' filters only /bin/bash but misses other valid shells. sed '/nologin/d' /etc/passwd | cut -d':' -f7 deletes lines with 'nologin' but then prints shell field, not usernames.
Final Answer:
awk -F':' '$7 != "/usr/sbin/nologin" && $7 != "/bin/false" {print $1}' /etc/passwd -> Option A
Quick Check:
Use awk on /etc/passwd to filter shell field and print usernames [OK]

Quick Trick: Use awk with FS=':' and check field 7 for valid shells [OK]

Common Mistakes:

Using /etc/shadow instead of /etc/passwd for shell info
Printing wrong fields (shell instead of username)
Using grep without proper field filtering

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You want to write a script that lists all users who have a valid login shell (not /usr/sbin/nologin or /bin/false) by reading /etc/passwd. Which command snippet correctly filters these users?

Step 1: Identify shell field in /etc/passwd

Step 2: Analyze each option

Final Answer:

Quick Check:

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