Command line user management

ACCESS PERMITTED!

Article from Issue 57/2005
Author(s):

Linux is a multiuser system: many users can work at the same machine at the same time on separate accounts. In this month’s column, we take a close look at how to create and manage Linux user accounts from the command line.

Multiuser systems neatly separate individual user workspaces. You can save your own files by assigning appropriate access privileges. The typical Unix/ Linux paradigm of having a separate account for administrative tasks (root) helps prevent the possibility of user errors that might otherwise take down the whole system.

The system administrator, root, is the boss of the whole system; a user needs root privileges to run the commands for setting up and managing user accounts that we will be looking at in this article. After discussing the most important configuration files, we will take an in-depth look at the useradd, usermod, and userdel tools, which allow us to create, manage, and delete accounts.

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
Print Issues
Digital Issues
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Print Subs
Digisubs
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Admin Workshop: User Management

    The steps for setting up new accounts in Linux are automated and often use GUI-based tools. Under the hood, a number of mechanisms give the new user an environment to match his or her needs. In this month’s Admin Workshop we discuss techniques for setting up accounts.

    more »
  • Command Line: Logging Tools

    Many logging and user-related commands can help you check on your system and keep track of security matters. We guide you through several helpful tools.

    more »
  • systemd-homed

    Systemd has already changed almost everything about the Linux startup process. Now an experimental new feature takes on the challenge of user home directories.

    more »
  • Command Line: Access Control

    A sophisticated system of users and permissions precisely controls who has access to what on Linux. At the command line, you can define ownership with the chmod, chgrp, and chown tools.

    more »
  • Linux with Active Directory

    Microsoft's Active Directory system provides centralized user management and single sign-on. If you're ready for a few manual steps, Linux can leverage this potential.

    more »
comments powered by Disqus

Visit Our Shop

Trial Subscription

Digital Subscription

Subscribe

Direct Download

Read full article as PDF:

Commandline_User_Accounts.pdf (181.37 kB)

News

Tag Cloud

Administration Community Desktop Events Hardware Linux Linux Pro Magazine Mobile Programming Software Ubuntu Web Development Windows free software open source