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Systems & Data Center · Foundational

useradd

The low-level Linux command that creates a local user account and optionally its home directory.

Definition

Defaults come from /etc/default/useradd and /etc/login.defs, and /etc/skel provides initial home-directory files. Options set UID (-u), primary group (-g), supplementary groups (-G), shell (-s) and home (-m -d).

Example

useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash alice creates alice with a home directory and admin group membership.

Exam tip

On Debian, adduser is an interactive wrapper; useradd is the portable command tested on exams.

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