Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Network Infrastructure

Directory Utility in Yosemite. I’m not Dead Yet… Mapping Attributes 101

The Directory Utility application has moved to /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications. Once open, you can use it to bind to directory services, change search policies and even dink around with NIS if you still rock the flannel with your ripped up jeans. But, the thing that I tend to do in Directory Utility the most is look at user and group attributes. To do so, open Directory Utility and click on the Directory Editor tab. In the bar directly below, you’ll see Viewing and In Node. The Viewing option is what type of object you’re going to look at. The In Node option shows the directory domain you’re viewing. Below, we show the local users in /Local/Default. Screen Shot 2014-10-30 at 9.02.04 AM

Click on a user and you will see all of the attributes that exist for that user. Not all users are created equal when it comes to attributes, so if you’re looking for a specific attribute then you can go through different users to see what they have.

Screen Shot 2014-10-30 at 9.12.18 AM

Change the In Node option to /LDAPV3/127.0.0.1 (or the name of your directory service such as your Active Directory) to see all the attributes available there. You can then note the names and use them in scripts, etc.

Screen Shot 2014-10-30 at 9.04.11 AM

You can also access this information via dscl, but I’ve covered that enough times in the past to be bored with myself for even making the reference. Enjoy.