User and Group Management Commands in Linux
Linux is a multi-user operating system by default. System users, human users, groups and a lot more.
As a sysadmin, you should know how to get details of users on the system, modify their access, change their passwords or set a password policy and manage their groups.
You'll learn about various Linux commands that allow you to manage user accounts and groups in this section.
I recommend reading a little on the file ownership and groups. This will give you a better understanding on groups at least.
Abhishek Prakash
After that, you may browse through the available commands.
User identification commands
The commands that let you find about the logged in users.
| Command | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| who | Lists all logged-in users | who command |
| id | Get user and group ID | id command |
| finger | Logged in user information | finger command |
User account management commands
These commands let you add, remove and modify user accounts on a Linux system.
| Command | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| useradd | Create a new user account | useradd command |
| userdel | Delete an existing user | userdel command |
| usermod | Modify user account | usermod command |
| passwd | Manage use passwords | passwd command |
Group management
Groups are an integral concept of Linux security structure. They also play a crucial role in who is eligible to access certain files on the system.
| Command | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| groupadd | Creates new groups | groupadd command |
| groupdel | Delete a group | groupdel command |
| groupmod | Modify group properties | groupmod command |