How to Create and Manage Users and Groups on Linux

User and group management is an essential aspect of maintaining a secure and organized Linux system. Creating separate user accounts and assigning them to groups with specific permissions ensures that each user has the appropriate access to system resources. In this guide, we will show you how to create and manage users and groups on your Linux system.

Steps

Step 1: Open Terminal

Open the terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T on your keyboard or by searching for it in the applications menu.

Step 2: Create New User

To create a new user account, use the useradd command followed by the new username:

sudo useradd new_user

Replace new_user with the desired username.

To set a password for the new user, use the passwd command:

sudo passwd new_user

Enter a strong password when prompted.

Step 3 (Optional): Customize User Settings

You can customize various settings for the new user during the account creation process. Some common options are:

-c: Add a comment (usually the user’s full name)
-d: Specify the user’s home directory
-m: Create the user’s home directory if it doesn’t exist
-s: Set the user’s default shell
-G: Add the user to supplementary groups

For example, to create a user with a custom home directory, shell, and full name, use the following command:

sudo useradd -d /home/custom_directory -s /bin/bash -c “Full Name” new_user

Step 4: Create New Group

To create a new group, use the groupadd command followed by the new group name:

sudo groupadd new_group

Replace new_group with the desired group name.

Step 5: Add Users to Groups

To add a user to a group, use the usermod command with the -a (append) and -G (groups) options:

sudo usermod -a -G group_name user_name

Replace group_name with the name of the group and user_name with the name of the user you want to add.

Step 6: Remove Users and Groups

To remove a user, use the userdel command:

sudo userdel user_name

To remove a user’s home directory and mail spool, use the -r option:

sudo userdel -r user_name

To remove a group, use the groupdel command:

sudo groupdel group_name

Step 7: List Users and Groups

To list all users on the system, use the command:

getent passwd

To list all groups on the system, use the command:

getent group

Conclusion

Managing users and groups on a Linux system is crucial for maintaining a secure and organized environment. By following the steps in this guide, you can create, modify, and remove users and groups, as well as manage their permissions and settings. Proper user and group management will help you control access to system resources and prevent unauthorized activities.