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-rw-r--r--doc/guix.texi16
1 files changed, 14 insertions, 2 deletions
diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
index 70604b7603..c0af4cb722 100644
--- a/doc/guix.texi
+++ b/doc/guix.texi
@@ -4238,7 +4238,9 @@ command, from the same-named package. This relies on the
@node User Accounts
@subsection User Accounts
-User accounts are specified with the @code{user-account} form:
+User accounts and groups are entirely managed through the
+@code{operating-system} declaration. They are specified with the
+@code{user-account} and @code{user-group} forms:
@example
(user-account
@@ -4252,6 +4254,14 @@ User accounts are specified with the @code{user-account} form:
(home-directory "/home/alice"))
@end example
+When booting or upon completion of @command{guix system reconfigure},
+the system ensures that only the user accounts and groups specified in
+the @code{operating-system} declaration exist, and with the specified
+properties. Thus, account or group creations or modifications made by
+directly invoking commands such as @command{useradd} are lost upon
+reconfiguration or reboot. This ensures that the system remains exactly
+as declared.
+
@deftp {Data Type} user-account
Objects of this type represent user accounts. The following members may
be specified:
@@ -4291,7 +4301,9 @@ graphical login managers do not list them.
@item @code{password} (default: @code{#f})
You would normally leave this field to @code{#f}, initialize user
passwords as @code{root} with the @command{passwd} command, and then let
-users change it with @command{passwd}.
+users change it with @command{passwd}. Passwords set with
+@command{passwd} are of course preserved across reboot and
+reconfiguration.
If you @emph{do} want to have a preset password for an account, then
this field must contain the encrypted password, as a string.