Manual: pam_timestamp

PAM_TIMESTAMP(8)				      Linux-PAM Manual					    PAM_TIMESTAMP(8)

NAME
       pam_timestamp - Authenticate using cached successful authentication attempts

SYNOPSIS

       pam_timestamp.so [timestampdir=directory] [timestamp_timeout=number] [verbose] [debug]

DESCRIPTION
       In a nutshell, pam_timestamp caches successful authentication attempts, and allows you to use a recent successful
       attempt as the basis for authentication. This is similar mechanism which is used in sudo.

       When an application opens a session using pam_timestamp, a timestamp file is created in the timestampdir directory
       for the user. When an application attempts to authenticate the user, a pam_timestamp will treat a sufficiently recent
       timestamp file as grounds for succeeding.

OPTIONS
       timestampdir=directory
	   Specify an alternate directory where pam_timestamp creates timestamp files.

       timestamp_timeout=number
	   How long should pam_timestamp treat timestamp as valid after their last modification date (in seconds). Default
	   is 300 seconds.

       verbose
	   Attempt to inform the user when access is granted.

       debug
	   Turns on debugging messages sent to syslog(3).

MODULE TYPES PROVIDED
       The auth and session module types are provided.

RETURN VALUES
       PAM_AUTH_ERR
	   The module was not able to retrieve the user name or no valid timestamp file was found.

       PAM_SUCCESS
	   Everything was successful.

       PAM_SESSION_ERR
	   Timestamp file could not be created or updated.

NOTES
       Users can get confused when they are not always asked for passwords when running a given program. Some users
       reflexively begin typing information before noticing that it is not being asked for.

EXAMPLES
	   auth sufficient pam_timestamp.so verbose
	   auth required   pam_unix.so

	   session required pam_unix.so
	   session optional pam_timestamp.so

FILES
       /var/run/pam_timestamp/...
	   timestamp files and directories

SEE ALSO
       pam_timestamp_check(8), pam.conf(5), pam.d(5), pam(7)

AUTHOR
       pam_timestamp was written by Nalin Dahyabhai.

Linux-PAM						 07/16/2026					    PAM_TIMESTAMP(8)