Just browsing through my notes on dscl, which I've scripted fairly extensively. I'm fairly sure that the answer is no, there is no way to avoid supplying the password. The only exception might be if you were root on the local box (which, in your example, does appear to be the case). [I've almost exclusively done changes over the network.]
If you use expect or pexpect, you can encoded the password in a script (in a reversible manner), and then call into the program you need. [I've come up with a method to encode/decode something that looks like gobbledygook, but it is security through obscurity, I'm afraid.]
For using pexpect, something along these lines would work [note that this example uses dscl, and not dsimport! (I imagine it could be simplified a fair bit for your purposed; turning on the logging command for the dscl child helps when setting things up)]:
#!/usr/bin/env python
import pexpect
# If you don't have pexpect, you should be able to run
# 'sudo easy_install pexpect' to get it
### Fill in these variables
diradmin = "diradmin"
host = "host"
directory = '/Local/Default' # '/LDAPv3/127.0.0.1'
# Note: it is possible to encode the data here so it is not in plain text!
password = "password"
DSCL_PROMPT = " > " # Don't change this (unless the dscl tool changes)
def ReplyOnGoodResult(child, desired, reply):
"""Helps analyze the results as we try to set passwords.
child = a pexpect child process
desired = The value we hope to see
reply = text to send if we get the desired result (or None for no reply)
If we do get the desired result, we send the reply and return true.
If not, we return false."""
expectations = [ pexpect.EOF, pexpect.TIMEOUT, '(?i)error', desired ]
desired_index = len(expectations) - 1
index = child.expect(expectations)
if index == desired_index:
if reply:
child.sendline(reply)
return True
else:
return False
def RunDSCLCommand(dscl_child, command):
"""Issues one dscl command; returns if it succeeded or failed.
command = the command to be sent to dscl, such as 'passwd Users/foo newpword'
"""
assert dscl_child is not None, "No connection successfully established"
# We should be logged in with a prompt awaiting us
expected_list = [ pexpect.EOF, pexpect.TIMEOUT,
'(?i)error', 'Invalid Path', DSCL_PROMPT ]
desired_index = len(expected_list) - 1
invalid_path_index = desired_index - 1
dscl_child.sendline(command)
reply_index = dscl_child.expect(expected_list)
if reply_index == desired_index:
return True
# Find the next prompt so that on the next call to a command like this
# one, we will know we are at a consistent starting place
# Looking at the self.dscl_child.before will likely contain
# the error that occured, but for now:
dscl_child.expect(DSCL_PROMPT)
if invalid_path_is_success and reply_index == invalid_path_index:
# The item doesn't exist, but we will still count it
# as a success. (Most likely we were told to delete the item).
return True
# one of the error conditions was triggered
return False
# Here is the part of the program where we start doing things
prompt = DSCL_PROMPT
dscl_child = pexpect.spawn("dscl -u %s -p %s" % (diradmin, host))
#dscl_child.logfile = file("dscl_child.log", "w") # log what is going on
success = False
if (ReplyOnGoodResult(self.dscl_child, "Password:", password) and
ReplyOnGoodResult(self.dscl_child, prompt, "cd %s" % directory) and
ReplyOnGoodResult(self.dscl_child, prompt, "auth %s %s" % (diradmin, password)) and
ReplyOnGoodResult(self.dscl_child, prompt, None)):
success = True
if success:
# Now issue a command
success = RunDSCLCommand(dscl_child, 'passwd Users/foo newpword')
dscl_child.close()
I have posted some of the code that I am using here; I'm afraid it is woefully unsupported (and posted to the pymacadmin group about it here. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I wrote up anything on how to use it :(