1LDIF(5) File Formats Manual LDIF(5)
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6 ldif - LDAP Data Interchange Format
7
9 The LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF) is used to represent LDAP en‐
10 tries and change records in text form. LDAP tools, such as ldapadd(1)
11 and ldapsearch(1), read and write LDIF entry records. ldapmodify(1)
12 reads LDIF change records.
13 This manual page provides a basic description of LDIF. A formal speci‐
15 fication of LDIF is published in RFC 2849.
16
18 LDIF entry records are used to represent directory entries. The basic
19 form of an entry record is:
20 dn: <distinguished name>
22 <attrdesc>: <attrvalue>
23 <attrdesc>: <attrvalue>
24 <attrdesc>:: <base64-encoded-value>
25 <attrdesc>:< <URL>
26 ...
27 The value may be specified as UTF-8 text or as base64 encoded data, or
29 a URI may be provided to the location of the attribute value.
30 A line may be continued by starting the next line with a single space
32 or tab, e.g.,
33 dn: cn=Barbara J Jensen,dc=exam
35 ple,dc=com
36 Lines beginning with a sharp sign ('#') are ignored.
38 Multiple attribute values are specified on separate lines, e.g.,
40 cn: Barbara J Jensen
42 cn: Babs Jensen
43 If an value contains a non-printing character, or begins with a space
45 or a colon ':', the <attrtype> is followed by a double colon and the
46 value is encoded in base 64 notation. e.g., the value " begins with a
47 space" would be encoded like this:
48 cn:: IGJlZ2lucyB3aXRoIGEgc3BhY2U=
50 If the attribute value is located in a file, the <attrtype> is followed
52 by a ':<' and a file: URI. e.g., the value contained in the file
53 /tmp/value would be listed like this:
54 cn:< file:///tmp/value
56 Other URI schemes (ftp,http) may be supported as well.
57 Multiple entries within the same LDIF file are separated by blank
59 lines.
60
62 Here is an example of an LDIF file containing three entries.
63 dn: cn=Barbara J Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
65 cn: Barbara J Jensen
66 cn: Babs Jensen
67 objectclass: person
68 description:< file:///tmp/babs
69 sn: Jensen
70 dn: cn=Bjorn J Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
72 cn: Bjorn J Jensen
73 cn: Bjorn Jensen
74 objectclass: person
75 sn: Jensen
76 dn: cn=Jennifer J Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
78 cn: Jennifer J Jensen
79 cn: Jennifer Jensen
80 objectclass: person
81 sn: Jensen
82 jpegPhoto:: /9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAAAAAQABAAD/2wBDABALD
83 A4MChAODQ4SERATGCgaGBYWGDEjJR0oOjM9PDkzODdASFxOQ
84 ERXRTc4UG1RV19iZ2hnPk1xeXBkeFxlZ2P/2wBDARESEhgVG
85 ...
86 Note that the description in Barbara Jensen's entry is read from
88 file:///tmp/babs and the jpegPhoto in Jennifer Jensen's entry is en‐
89 coded using base 64.
90
92 LDIF change records are used to represent directory change requests.
93 Each change record starts with line indicating the distinguished name
94 of the entry being changed:
95 dn: <distinguishedname>
97 changetype: <[modify|add|delete|modrdn]>
99 Finally, the change information itself is given, the format of which
101 depends on what kind of change was specified above. For a changetype
102 of modify, the format is one or more of the following:
103 add: <attributetype>
105 <attrdesc>: <value1>
106 <attrdesc>: <value2>
107 ...
108 -
109 Or, for a replace modification:
111 replace: <attributetype>
113 <attrdesc>: <value1>
114 <attrdesc>: <value2>
115 ...
116 -
117 If no attributetype lines are given to replace, the entire attribute is
119 to be deleted (if present).
120 Or, for a delete modification:
122 delete: <attributetype>
124 <attrdesc>: <value1>
125 <attrdesc>: <value2>
126 ...
127 -
128 If no attributetype lines are given to delete, the entire attribute is
130 to be deleted.
131 For a changetype of add, the format is:
133 <attrdesc1>: <value1>
135 <attrdesc1>: <value2>
136 ...
137 <attrdescN>: <value1>
138 <attrdescN>: <value2>
139 For a changetype of modrdn or moddn, the format is:
141 newrdn: <newrdn>
143 deleteoldrdn: 0 | 1
144 newsuperior: <DN>
145 where a value of 1 for deleteoldrdn means to delete the values forming
147 the old rdn from the entry, and a value of 0 means to leave the values
148 as non-distinguished attributes in the entry. The newsuperior line is
149 optional and, if present, specifies the new superior to move the entry
150 to.
151 For a changetype of delete, no additional information is needed in the
153 record.
154 Note that attribute values may be presented using base64 or in files as
156 described for entry records. Lines in change records may be continued
157 in the manner described for entry records as well.
158
160 The following sample LDIF file contains a change record of each type of
161 change.
162 dn: cn=Babs Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
164 changetype: add
165 objectclass: person
166 objectclass: extensibleObject
167 cn: babs
168 cn: babs jensen
169 sn: jensen
170 dn: cn=Babs Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
172 changetype: modify
173 add: givenName
174 givenName: Barbara
175 givenName: babs
176 -
177 replace: description
178 description: the fabulous babs
179 -
180 delete: sn
181 sn: jensen
182 -
183 dn: cn=Babs Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
185 changetype: modrdn
186 newrdn: cn=Barbara J Jensen
187 deleteoldrdn: 0
188 newsuperior: ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
189 dn: cn=Barbara J Jensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
191 changetype: delete
192
195 The LDIF parser has been extended to support an include statement for
196 referencing other LDIF files. The include statement must be separated
197 from other records by a blank line. The referenced file is specified
198 using a file: URI and all of its contents are incorporated as if they
199 were part of the original LDIF file. As above, other URI schemes may be
200 supported. For example:
201 dn: dc=example,dc=com
203 objectclass: domain
204 dc: example
205 include: file:///tmp/example.com.ldif
207 dn: dc=example,dc=org
209 objectclass: domain
210 dc: example
211 This feature is not part of the LDIF specification in RFC 2849 but is
212 expected to appear in a future revision of this spec. It is supported
213 by the ldapadd(1), ldapmodify(1), and slapadd(8) commands.
214
217 ldap(3), ldapsearch(1), ldapadd(1), ldapmodify(1), slapadd(8), slap‐
218 cat(8), slapd-ldif(5).
219 "LDAP Data Interchange Format," Good, G., RFC 2849.
221
223 OpenLDAP Software is developed and maintained by The OpenLDAP Project
224 <http://www.openldap.org/>. OpenLDAP Software is derived from the Uni‐
225 versity of Michigan LDAP 3.3 Release.
226OpenLDAP 2.6.6 2023/07/31 LDIF(5)