Bulk Operations

Bulk operations allow you to modify multiple LDAP entries in a single operation. This is useful for mass updates, such as changing attribute values across many users or adding attributes to a group of entries.

Overview

Bulk update works in two phases:

Search — Find all entries matching an LDAP filter
Modify — Apply the same modification to each matched entry

Press F8 to open the bulk update dialog.

Bulk operations are powerful and can affect many entries at once. Always test your filter with a regular search first to verify which entries will be modified.

Bulk Update Dialog

The bulk update dialog has four fields:

Operation Type

Press F2 to cycle through available operations:

Replace — Replace all values of an attribute with a new value
Add — Add a value to an attribute (creates if it doesn’t exist)
Delete — Remove all values of an attribute or a specific value

Search Filter

LDAP search filter to select which entries to modify. The filter uses standard LDAP filter syntax.Examples:

(objectClass=person) — All person entries
(ou=Engineering) — All entries in Engineering OU
(&(objectClass=inetOrgPerson)(!(mail=*))) — All inetOrgPerson entries without an email

Attribute Name

The attribute to modify (e.g., mail, telephoneNumber, description).

Value

The value to use for the operation:

Replace/Add — The new value to set or add
Delete — The specific value to delete (leave empty to delete all values)

Press Enter to execute the bulk update. Press Esc to cancel.

Operation Types

Replace
Add
Delete

Replace Attribute

Replaces all existing values of an attribute with a single new value.Use case: Standardize attribute values across multiple entriesExample: Set all users’ department to “Engineering”

Operation: Replace
Filter: (objectClass=inetOrgPerson)
Attribute: ou
Value: Engineering

Result:

Entries that have ou: Sales → ou: Engineering
Entries that have ou: Marketing → ou: Engineering
Entries without ou → ou: Engineering (created)

Replace operations overwrite all existing values. If the attribute had multiple values, they are all removed and replaced with the single new value.

Add Value

Adds a value to an attribute. If the attribute doesn’t exist, it’s created.Use case: Add additional values to multi-valued attributesExample: Add a secondary email address

Operation: Add
Filter: (cn=Alice Smith)
Attribute: mail
Value: [email protected]

Result:

If mail: [email protected] exists → adds second value
Final state: mail: [email protected], mail: [email protected]

If the attribute is single-valued in the schema, the add operation will fail. Check the schema viewer (F6) to see if an attribute is single-valued.

Example: Add object class to entries

Operation: Add
Filter: (&(objectClass=person)(!(objectClass=inetOrgPerson)))
Attribute: objectClass
Value: inetOrgPerson

Delete Attribute or Value

Removes an attribute or a specific value from an attribute.Delete all values (leave Value field empty):

Operation: Delete
Filter: (telephoneNumber=*)
Attribute: telephoneNumber
Value: [empty]

Result: Removes the entire telephoneNumber attribute from all matching entriesDelete specific value (provide value):

Operation: Delete
Filter: (objectClass=groupOfNames)
Attribute: member
Value: cn=John Doe,ou=Users,dc=example,dc=com

Result: Removes only that specific member from the group, leaving other members intact

When deleting all values, if the attribute is required by the entry’s object classes, the operation will fail. Required attributes are listed in the schema viewer’s MUST section.

Bulk Update Process

Search phase

Loom executes a subtree search from the base DN using your filter. All matching entries are collected.The search uses the current connection’s base DN and searches all subtrees.

Modification phase

For each matched entry, Loom applies the modification operation. Operations are executed sequentially.

Success — Entry is modified and counter incremented
Failure — Error is logged with the entry DN and error message

Results

After all modifications complete, the status bar shows:

Total entries matched
Number of successful modifications
Number of failed modifications

Failed modifications are logged in the log panel (F7).

Practical Examples

Example 1: Add Missing Email Addresses

Add email addresses for users who don’t have one:

Operation: Add
Filter: (&(objectClass=inetOrgPerson)(!(mail=*)))
Attribute: mail
Value: [manually enter or use another tool]

Example 2: Update Department

Change department for all users in a specific organizational unit:

Operation: Replace
Filter: (ou=Sales)
Attribute: departmentNumber
Value: 42

Example 3: Remove Temporary Attribute

Delete a temporary attribute from all entries:

Operation: Delete
Filter: (tempAttribute=*)
Attribute: tempAttribute
Value: [empty]

Example 4: Add Object Class

Add posixAccount object class to all person entries:

Operation: Add
Filter: (&(objectClass=person)(!(objectClass=posixAccount)))
Attribute: objectClass
Value: posixAccount

After adding posixAccount, you’ll need to add required attributes like uidNumber, gidNumber, and homeDirectory individually or through another bulk operation.

Example 5: Remove User from All Groups

Remove a specific user from all groups:

Operation: Delete
Filter: (objectClass=groupOfNames)
Attribute: member
Value: cn=John Doe,ou=Users,dc=example,dc=com

LDAP Filter Syntax

Bulk operations use standard LDAP search filters:

Filter	Matches
`(cn=Alice)`	Entries where cn equals “Alice”
`(cn=Alice*)`	Entries where cn starts with “Alice”
`(cn=*Smith)`	Entries where cn ends with “Smith”
`(cn=ice)`	Entries where cn contains “ice”
`(!(mail=*))`	Entries without a mail attribute
`(&(objectClass=person)(ou=Sales))`	Person entries in Sales OU
`(\|(cn=Alice)(cn=Bob))`	Entries named Alice OR Bob

Test your filter with the regular search function (F9) before using it in a bulk operation to verify which entries will be affected.

Safety and Best Practices

Before executing bulk updates:

Test your search filter to see which entries match
Check if the attribute is required or single-valued in the schema
Consider making a backup export of affected entries
Start with a narrow filter and expand gradually
Use read-only mode if you want to prevent accidental modifications

Read-Only Mode

Enable read-only mode in your connection profile to prevent bulk modifications:

[[connections]]
name = "Production (Read-Only)"
host = "ldap.example.com"
read_only = true

With read-only mode enabled, bulk update operations are blocked.

Logging

All bulk operations are logged. Press F7 to view the log panel and see:

Which entries were modified
Which entries failed and why
Full error messages for troubleshooting

Error Handling

Common errors during bulk operations:

Error	Cause	Solution
”Constraint violation”	Adding a required attribute is missing, or single-valued attribute has multiple values	Check schema and ensure all requirements are met
”No such attribute”	Deleting an attribute that doesn’t exist	Use filter `(attributeName=*)` to only match entries that have the attribute
”Object class violation”	Removing a required attribute	Check MUST attributes in schema viewer
”Insufficient access”	Insufficient permissions	Use an account with write access

Keybindings

Key	Action
`F8`	Open bulk update dialog
`F2`	Cycle operation type (Replace/Add/Delete)
`Tab` / `Shift+Tab`	Navigate fields
`Enter`	Execute bulk update
`Esc`	Cancel and close dialog

Implementation Details

Under the hood:Bulk updates are implemented using the LDAP modify operation. Each entry is modified individually, which means:

Operations are not atomic across all entries
Partial success is possible (some entries succeed, others fail)
The operation continues even if some modifications fail
All results are reported at the end

Get Started

User Guide

Features

Overview

Bulk Update Dialog

Operation Types

Replace Attribute

Add Value

Delete Attribute or Value

Bulk Update Process

Practical Examples

Example 1: Add Missing Email Addresses

Example 2: Update Department

Example 3: Remove Temporary Attribute

Example 4: Add Object Class

Example 5: Remove User from All Groups

LDAP Filter Syntax

Safety and Best Practices

Read-Only Mode

Logging

Error Handling

Keybindings

Implementation Details

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

User Guide

Features

​Overview

​Bulk Update Dialog

​Operation Types

​Replace Attribute

​Add Value

​Delete Attribute or Value

​Bulk Update Process

​Practical Examples

​Example 1: Add Missing Email Addresses

​Example 2: Update Department

​Example 3: Remove Temporary Attribute

​Example 4: Add Object Class

​Example 5: Remove User from All Groups

​LDAP Filter Syntax

​Safety and Best Practices

​Read-Only Mode

​Logging

​Error Handling

​Keybindings

​Implementation Details

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Bulk Update Dialog

Operation Types

Replace Attribute

Add Value

Delete Attribute or Value

Bulk Update Process

Practical Examples

Example 1: Add Missing Email Addresses

Example 2: Update Department

Example 3: Remove Temporary Attribute

Example 4: Add Object Class

Example 5: Remove User from All Groups

LDAP Filter Syntax

Safety and Best Practices

Read-Only Mode

Logging

Error Handling

Keybindings

Implementation Details