who: `who -b` produces no output if `/var/run/utmp` is missing
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Description
(This is a separate issue filed based on original-birdman's comment on #3219)
Problem
Passing -b/--boot to uutils who does not generate the same output as GNU when /var/run/utmp is missing (as is the case on Ubuntu).
Reproduce
uutils:
$ who -b
<no output>
GNU:
$ gnuwho -b
system boot 2026-03-31 09:04
Possible fix
strace on gnuwho -b shows that it will attempt to read systemd information such as
/var/run/systemd/sessions//var/lib/systemd/random-seed
if /var/run/utmp is missing.
System
- OS release: Ubuntu 26.04 (Development branch)
- uutils coreutils version: 0.8.0 (built from main commit: f6451c7)
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
The affected entry point is the uutils who -b command; begin by tracing how it handles a missing /var/run/utmp and compare that path with GNU's behavior. Check the systemd locations named in the report, /var/run/systemd/sessions/ and /var/lib/systemd/random-seed, and reproduce the Ubuntu-like missing-utmp case. Done means who -b emits the boot time instead of no output.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- rust
- Domain
- cli, operating-systems
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 55/100