UserManagement

useradd

Create new user accounts or update default account information.
Unless invoked with the -D option, user must be given. useradd will create new entries in system files. Home directories and initial files may also be created as needed.

SYNTAX useradd [options] [user]OPTIONS -c comment Comment field. -d dir Home directory. The default is to use user as the directory name
under the home directory specified with the -D option. -e date Account expiration date. date is in the format MM/DD/YYYY. Two-digit year fields are also accepted.
The value is stored as the number of days since January 1, 1970. This option requires the use of shadow passwords. -f days Permanently disable account this many days after the
password has expired. A value of -1 disables this feature. This option requires the use of shadow passwords. -g group Initial group name or ID number. If a different default group has not been specified using the -D option,
the default group is 1. -G groups Supplementary groups given by name or number in a comma-separated list with no whitespace. -k [dir] Copy default files to user's home directory.
Meaningful only when used with the -m option. Default files are copied from /etc/skel/ unless an alternate dir is specified. -m Make user's home directory if it does not exist.
The default is not to make the home directory. -o Override. Accept a nonunique uid with the -u option. (Probably a bad idea.) -s shell Login shell. -u
uid Numerical user ID. The value must be unique unless the -o option is used. The default value is the smallest ID value greater than 99 and greater than every other uid.
-D [options] Set or display defaults. If options are specified, set them. If no options are specified, display current defaults. The options are: -b
dir Home directory prefix to be used in creating home directories. If the -d option is not used when creating an account, the user name will be appended to dir.
-e date Expire date. Requires the use of shadow passwords. -f days Number of days after a password expires to disable an account. Requires the use of shadow passwords.
-g group Initial group name or ID number. -s shell Default login shell.




SYNTAX
useradd [-c comment] [-d home_dir] [-e expire_date] [-f inactive_time] [-g initial_group] [-G group[,...]] [-m [-k skeleton_dir]] [-p passwd] [-s shell] [-u uid [ -o]] login

useradd -D [-g default_group] [-b default_home] [-f default_inactive] [-e default_expire_date] [-s default_shell]

-c comment The new user's password file comment field.
-d home_dir The new user will be created using home_dir as the value for the user's login directory. The default is to append the login name to default_home and use that as the login directory name.
-e expire_date The date on which the user account will be disabled. The date is specified in the format YYYY-MM-DD.
-f inactive_time The number of days after a password expires until the account is permanently disabled. A value of 0 disables the account as soon as the password has expired, and a value of -1 disables the feature. The default value is -1.
-g initial_group The group name or number of the user's initial login group. The group name must exist. A group number must refer to an already existing group. The default group number is 1.
-G group,[,...] A list of supplementary groups which the user is also a member of. Each group is separated from the next by a comma, with no intervening whitespace. The groups are subject to the same restrictions as the group given with the -g option. The default is for the user to belong only to the initial group.
-m The user's home directory will be created if it does not exist. The files contained in skeleton_dir will be copied to the home directory if the -k option is used, otherwise the files contained in /etc/skel will be used instead. Any directories contained in skeleton_dir or /etc/skel will be created in the user's home directory as well. The -k option is only valid in conjunction with the -m option. The default is to not create the directory and to not copy any files.
-p passwd The encrypted password, as returned by crypt. The default is to disable the account.
-s shell The name of the user's login shell. The default is to leave this field blank, which causes the system to select the default login shell.
-u uid The numerical value of the user's ID. This value must be unique, unless the -o option is used. The value must be non-negative. The default is to use the smallest ID value greater than 99 and greater than every other user. Values between 0 and 99 are typically reserved for system accounts.
-b default_home The initial path prefix for a new user's home directory. The user's name will be affixed to the end of default_home to create the new directory name if the -d option is not used when creating a new account.
-e default_expire_date The date on which the user account is disabled.
-f default_inactive The number of days after a password has expired before the account will be disabled.
-g default_group The group name or ID for a new user's initial group. The named group must exist, and a numerical group ID must have an existing entry.
-s default_shell The name of the new user's login shell. The named program will be used for all future new user accounts.

If no options are specified, useradd displays the current default values.

EXAMPLES

Note: For these commands to work you must have super user rights or be logged in as root.

useradd -D

In the above example the useradd command would display the defaults. Below is an example of what could be displayed.

GROUP=100
HOME=/home
INACTIVE=1
EXPIRE=
SHELL=/bin/bash
SKEL=/etc/skel

useradd newperson

In the above example the useradd command would add "newperson" as a new user to the system. Once the new user has been added to the computer you would need to use the passwd command.

Note: Once a user has been created if you wish to modify any of the user settings such as the home directory setting use the usermod command.