ldif - LDAP Data Interchange Format
The LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF) is used to represent LDAP entries and
change records in text form. LDAP tools, such as
ldapadd(1) and
ldapsearch(1), read and write LDIF entry records.
ldapmodify(1)
reads LDIF change records.
This manual page provides a basic description of LDIF. A formal specification of
LDIF is published in RFC 2849.
LDIF entry records are used to represent directory entries. The basic form of an
entry record is:
dn: <distinguished name>
<attrdesc>: <attrvalue>
<attrdesc>: <attrvalue>
<attrdesc>:: <base64-encoded-value>
<attrdesc>:< <URL>
...
The value may be specified as UTF-8 text or as base64 encoded data, or a URI may
be provided to the location of the attribute value.
A line may be continued by starting the next line with a single space or tab,
e.g.,
dn: cn=Barbara J Jensen,dc=exam
ple,dc=com
Lines beginning with a sharp sign ('#') are ignored.
Multiple attribute values are specified on separate lines, e.g.,
cn: Barbara J Jensen
cn: Babs Jensen
If an value contains a non-printing character, or begins with a space or a colon
':', the <attrtype> is followed by a double colon and the value is
encoded in base 64 notation. e.g., the value " begins with a space"
would be encoded like this:
cn:: IGJlZ2lucyB3aXRoIGEgc3BhY2U=
If the attribute value is located in a file, the <attrtype> is followed by
a ':<' and a file: URI. e.g., the value contained in the file /tmp/value
would be listed like this:
cn:< file:///tmp/value
Other URI schemes (ftp,http) may be supported as well.
Multiple entries within the same LDIF file are separated by blank lines.
Here is an example of an LDIF file containing three entries.
dn: cn=Barbara J Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Barbara J Jensen
cn: Babs Jensen
objectclass: person
description:< file:///tmp/babs
sn: Jensen
dn: cn=Bjorn J Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Bjorn J Jensen
cn: Bjorn Jensen
objectclass: person
sn: Jensen
dn: cn=Jennifer J Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Jennifer J Jensen
cn: Jennifer Jensen
objectclass: person
sn: Jensen
jpegPhoto:: /9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAAAAAQABAAD/2wBDABALD
A4MChAODQ4SERATGCgaGBYWGDEjJR0oOjM9PDkzODdASFxOQ
ERXRTc4UG1RV19iZ2hnPk1xeXBkeFxlZ2P/2wBDARESEhgVG
...
Note that the description in Barbara Jensen's entry is read from
file:///tmp/babs and the jpegPhoto in Jennifer Jensen's entry is encoded using
base 64.
LDIF change records are used to represent directory change requests. Each change
record starts with line indicating the distinguished name of the entry being
changed:
dn: <distinguishedname>
changetype: <[modify|add|delete|modrdn]>
Finally, the change information itself is given, the format of which depends on
what kind of change was specified above. For a
changetype of
modify, the format is one or more of the following:
add: <attributetype>
<attrdesc>: <value1>
<attrdesc>: <value2>
...
-
Or, for a replace modification:
replace: <attributetype>
<attrdesc>: <value1>
<attrdesc>: <value2>
...
-
If no
attributetype lines are given to replace, the entire attribute is
to be deleted (if present).
Or, for a delete modification:
delete: <attributetype>
<attrdesc>: <value1>
<attrdesc>: <value2>
...
-
If no
attributetype lines are given to delete, the entire attribute is to
be deleted.
For a
changetype of
add, the format is:
<attrdesc1>: <value1>
<attrdesc1>: <value2>
...
<attrdescN>: <value1>
<attrdescN>: <value2>
For a
changetype of
modrdn or
moddn, the format is:
newrdn: <newrdn>
deleteoldrdn: 0 | 1
newsuperior: <DN>
where a value of 1 for deleteoldrdn means to delete the values forming the old
rdn from the entry, and a value of 0 means to leave the values as
non-distinguished attributes in the entry. The newsuperior line is optional
and, if present, specifies the new superior to move the entry to.
For a
changetype of
delete, no additional information is needed in
the record.
Note that attribute values may be presented using base64 or in files as
described for entry records. Lines in change records may be continued in the
manner described for entry records as well.
The following sample LDIF file contains a change record of each type of change.
dn: cn=Babs Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: add
objectclass: person
objectclass: extensibleObject
cn: babs
cn: babs jensen
sn: jensen
dn: cn=Babs Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: givenName
givenName: Barbara
givenName: babs
-
replace: description
description: the fabulous babs
-
delete: sn
sn: jensen
-
dn: cn=Babs Jensen,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modrdn
newrdn: cn=Barbara J Jensen
deleteoldrdn: 0
newsuperior: ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
dn: cn=Barbara J Jensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: delete
The LDIF parser has been extended to support an
include statement for
referencing other LDIF files. The
include statement must be separated
from other records by a blank line. The referenced file is specified using a
file: URI and all of its contents are incorporated as if they were part of the
original LDIF file. As above, other URI schemes may be supported. For example:
dn: dc=example,dc=com
objectclass: domain
dc: example
include: file:///tmp/example.com.ldif
dn: dc=example,dc=org
objectclass: domain
dc: example
This feature is not part of the LDIF specification in RFC 2849 but is expected
to appear in a future revision of this spec. It is supported by the
ldapadd(1),
ldapmodify(1), and
slapadd(8) commands.
ldap(3),
ldapsearch(1),
ldapadd(1),
ldapmodify(1),
slapadd(8),
slapcat(8),
slapd-ldif(5).
"LDAP Data Interchange Format," Good, G., RFC 2849.
OpenLDAP Software is developed and maintained by The OpenLDAP Project
<
http://www.openldap.org/>.
OpenLDAP Software is derived from the
University of Michigan LDAP 3.3 Release.