3.4. Updating a Directory Entry

When you modify a directory entry, use the changetype: modify statement. Depending on the change operation, you can add, change, or delete attributes from the entry.
Use the ldapmodify utility to send the LDIF statements to Directory Server. For example, in interactive mode: 
# ldapmodify -D "cn=Directory Manager" -W -p 389 -h server.example.com -x
For further details on the parameters used in ldapmodify commands, see the ldapmodify(1) man page.

3.4.1. Adding Attributes to an Entry

To add an attribute to an entry, use the add operation.
For example, to add the telephoneNumber attribute with the 555-1234567 value to the uid=user,dc=people,dc=example,dc=com entry: 
# ldapmodify -D "cn=Directory Manager" -W -p 389 -h server.example.com -x

dn: uid=user,dc=people,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: telephoneNumber
telephoneNumber: 555-1234567
If an attribute is multi-valued, you can specify the attribute name multiple times to add all the values in a single operation. For example, to add two telephoneNumber attributes at once to the uid=user,dc=people,dc=example,dc=com: 
# ldapmodify -D "cn=Directory Manager" -W -p 389 -h server.example.com -x

dn: uid=user,dc=people,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: telephoneNumber
telephoneNumber: 555-1234567
telephoneNumber: 555-7654321

3.4.2. Updating an Attribute's Value

The procedure for updating an attribute's value depends on if the attribute is single-valued or multi-valued.

Updating a Single-value Attribute

When updating a single-value attribute, use the replace operation to override the existing value. The following command updates the manager attribute of the uid=user,dc=people,dc=example,dc=com entry: 
# ldapmodify -D "cn=Directory Manager" -W -p 389 -h server.example.com -x

dn: uid=user,dc=people,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
replace: manager
manager: uid=manager_name,dc=people,dc=example,dc=com

Updating a Specific Value of a Multi-value Attribute

To update a specific value of a multi-value attribute, you must first delete the entry you want to replace, and then add the new value. The following command updates only the telephoneNumber attribute that is currently set to 555-1234567 in the uid=user,dc=people,dc=example,dc=com entry: 
# ldapmodify -D "cn=Directory Manager" -W -p 389 -h server.example.com -x

dn: uid=user,dc=people,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
delete: telephoneNumber
telephoneNumber: 555-1234567
-
add: telephoneNumber
telephoneNumber: 555-9876543

3.4.3. Deleting Attributes from an Entry

To delete an attribute from an entry, use the delete operation.

Deleting an Attribute

For example, to delete the manager attribute from the uid=user,dc=people,dc=example,dc=com entry: 
# ldapmodify -D "cn=Directory Manager" -W -p 389 -h server.example.com -x

dn: uid=user,dc=people,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
delete: manager

Note

If the attribute contains multiple values, this operation deletes all of them.

Deleting a Specific Value of a Multi-value Attribute

If you want to delete a specific value from a multi-value attribute, list the attribute and its value in the LDIF statement. For example, to delete only the telephoneNumber attribute that is set to 555-1234567 from the uid=user,dc=people,dc=example,dc=com entry: 
# ldapmodify -D "cn=Directory Manager" -W -p 389 -h server.example.com -x

dn: uid=user,dc=people,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
delete: telephoneNumber
telephoneNumber: 555-1234567