useradd command in Linux with Examples

useradd is a command in Linux that is used to add user accounts to your system. It is just a symbolic link to adduser command in Linux and the difference between both of them is that useradd is a native binary compiled with system whereas adduser is a Perl script which uses useradd binary in the background. It make changes to the following files:

• /etc/passwd
• /etc/shadow
• /etc/group
• /etc/gshadow
• creates a directory for new user in /home

Syntax:

useradd [options] name_of_the_user

Working with useradd Command

1. To add a simple user

sudo useraddtest_user

This command will add the user named “test_user”.

2. To give a home directory path for new user

sudo useradd -d /home/test_user test_user

This will set the home directory of the us”/home/test_user”.

3. To create a user with specific user id

sudo useradd -u 1234 test_user

This will create a new user with the user-id “1234” and the name “test_user”.

4. To create a user with specific group id

sudo useradd -g 1000 test_user

This will create a new user with the group id “1000” and the name “test_user”.

5. To create a user without home directory

sudo useradd -M test_user

This will create the user with the name “test_user” and that too without a home directory.

6. To create a user with expiry date

sudo useradd -e 2020-05-30 test_user

This will create the user named “test_user” with the expiry date of 30th May 2020.

7. To create a user with a comment

sudo useradd -c "This is a test user" test_user

This will create a user with a short comment or description of the user.

8. To create a user with changed login shell

sudo useradd -s /bin/sh test_user

This will create a user named “test_user” with the default shell /bin/sh.

9 To set an unencrypted password for the user

sudo useradd -p test_password test_user

This will create a new user with the name “test_user” and an unencrypted password “test_password”.

10. To display help

sudo useradd --help

This command will display the help section of the useradd command.

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