After a bit of searching, I finally found some resources for dealing with the NeXT carryover NetInfo DB. The MacAddict article Of NetInfo and /etc gives a good start on using nidump and niload. There a presentation slide that has a little info, as does a MacWEEK article on Darwin and using niutil:
[localhost]:~] root# niutil -create . /users/wanda [localhost]:~] root# niutil -createprop . /users/wanda uid 1000 [localhost]:~] root# niutil -createprop . /users/wanda gid 0 [localhost]:~] root# niutil -createprop . /users/wanda shell /bin/tcsh [localhost]:~] root# niutil -createprop . /users/wanda home /Users/wanda [localhost]:~] root# niutil -createprop . /users/wanda realname "Wanda Tinasky"
I’ll take useradd any day of the week.
When in doubt, take a look at install scripts. Once you find what you’re looking for, manfiles actually help.