Configure password aging with chage on Slackware

1. When to use it

Useful in environments where you must enforce an explicit password policy even without external directory solutions.

2. Base setup

chage -M 90 -m 7 -W 14 alice
chage -l alice
passwd -S alice

Adjust host names, IPs, interfaces, paths, and versions to the real system before making the change persistent.

3. Quick verification

chage -l alice
grep '^PASS_MAX_DAYS' /etc/login.defs
grep '^PASS_WARN_AGE' /etc/login.defs

Confirm that the output matches the expected state before considering the intervention complete.

4. Operational notes

Do not apply the same policy to service accounts blindly: breaking an app due to password expiry can be worse than the original risk.

Quick checklist

[ ] Steps completed\n[ ] Config updated\n[ ] Tests executed\n[ ] Rollback ready\n[ ] Logs checked

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