Adding a User

To add a user to the system:

useradd <username>

• Unlock the account by issuing the passwd command to assign a password and set password aging guidelines:

  passwd <username>

  Command line options for useradd are detailed in Table 35.1, "useradd Command Line Options".

  Table 35.1. useradd Command Line Options

  Option	Description
  -c '<comment>'	<comment> can be replaced with any string. This option is generally used to specify the full name of a user.
  -d <home-dir>	Home directory to be used instead of default /home/<username>/
  -e <date>	Date for the account to be disabled in the format YYYY-MM-DD
  -f <days>	Number of days after the password expires until the account is disabled. If 0 is specified, the account is disabled immediately after the password expires. If -1 is specified, the account is not be disabled after the password expires.
  -g <group-name>	Group name or group number for the user's default group. The group must exist prior to being specified here.
  -G <group-list>	List of additional (other than default) group names or group numbers, separated by commas, of which the user is a member. The groups must exist prior to being specified here.
  -m	Create the home directory if it does not exist.
  -M	Do not create the home directory.
  -n	Do not create a user private group for the user.
  -r	Create a system account with a UID less than 500 and without a home directory
  -p <password>	The password encrypted with crypt
  -s	User's login shell, which defaults to /bin/bash
  -u <uid>	User ID for the user, which must be unique and greater than 499