How to Create a New User Account in Linux

Introduction

Creating a new user account in Linux can be done easily using the command line interface. In this tutorial, we will go through all the steps that are required to create a new user account in Linux.

Requirements

Before starting, you should have the following:

• Access to a Linux machine with sudo privileges
• Basic knowledge of the Linux command line interface

Step 1 - Open the terminal

To create a new user account, we need to use the command line interface. Open the terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard or by searching for "Terminal" in the application launcher.

Step 2 - Create a new user account

To create a new user account, we will use the useradd command. The basic syntax of the useradd command is as follows:

sudo useradd username

Replace username with the desired username for the new user account. For example, to create a new user account named john, use the following command:

sudo useradd john

By default, the new user account will not have a password and will not be able to log in to the system. To set a password for the new user account, use the passwd command as follows:

sudo passwd john

Enter and confirm the new password when prompted.

Step 3 - Add user to groups

By default, the new user account will not have any special privileges or permissions. To add the new user account to a specific group, use the usermod command as follows:

sudo usermod -aG groupname username

Replace groupname with the name of the group you want to add the user to, and username with the username of the new user account. For example, to add user john to the sudo group, use the following command:

sudo usermod -aG sudo john

Conclusion

Creating a new user account in Linux is a simple process that can be executed from the command line interface. By following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you can create a new user account and, if desired, grant administrative privileges.

License

MIT

Copyright (c) 2021 netcup

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