A directory service uses the LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF) to describe entries in a UTF-8 encoded text format. Most of the directory service’s command-line utilities rely on LDIF either for input or output. For example, LDIF is commonly used to build a directory database, add entries to it, or edit its existing entries. LDAP Quickstart Manager can use LDIF files to import information instead of directly accessing the directory service.