Group (database)  group is a name service database used to store group information on Unix-like operating systems. The sources for the group database (and hence the sources for groups on a system) are configured, like other name service databases, in nsswitch.conf. The contents of the group database (and available groups) can be seen with a variety of tools:  The getent command can be used to fetch group information.   getent group   For a specific group called 'users':  getent group users