useradd

Create a new user or update default new user information .

Syntax
      useradd [options] LOGIN

      useradd -D

      useradd -D [options] 

When invoked without the -D option, the useradd command creates a new user account using the values specified on the command line plus the default values from the system. Depending on command line options, the useradd command will update system files and can also create the new user's home directory and copy initial files.

By default, a group will also be created for the new user (see -g, -N, -U, and USERGROUPS_ENAB).

Options

   -b, --base-dir BASE_DIR
       The default base directory for the system if -d HOME_DIR is not specified.
       BASE_DIR is concatenated with the account name to define the home directory.
       If the -m option is not used, BASE_DIR must exist.
       If this option is not specified, useradd will use the base directory
       specified by the HOME variable in /etc/default/useradd, or /home by default.

   -c, --comment COMMENT
       Any text string. It is generally a short description of the login, and is
       currently used as the field for the user's full name. 

   -d, --home 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 BASE_DIR and
       use that as the login directory name. The directory HOME_DIR does not have
       to exist but will not be created if it is missing.

   -D, --defaults
       See below, the subsection "Changing the default values".

   -e, --expiredate EXPIRE_DATE
       The date on which the user account will be disabled.
       The date is specified in the format YYYY-MM-DD (ISO 8601).

       If not specified, useradd will use the default expiry date specified by
       the EXPIRE variable in /etc/default/useradd, or an empty string
       (no expiry) by default.

   -f, --inactive INACTIVE
       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.

       If not specified, useradd will use the default inactivity period
       specified by the INACTIVE variable in /etc/default/useradd,
       or -1 by default.

   -g, --gid 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.

       If not specified, the bahavior of useradd will depend on the
       USERGROUPS_ENAB variable in /etc/login.defs. If this variable is
       set to yes (or -U/--user-group is specified on the command line),
       a group will be created for the user, with the same name as her
       loginname.
       If the variable is set to no (or -N/--no-user-group is specified
       on the command line), useradd will set the primary group of the
       new user to the value specified by the GROUP variable
       in /etc/default/useradd, or 100 by default.

   -G, --groups GROUP1[,GROUP2,...[,GROUPN]]]
       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.

   -h, --help
       Display help message and exit.

   -k, --skel SKEL_DIR
       The skeleton directory, which contains files and directories to
       be copied in the user's home directory, when the home directory is created by useradd.

       This option is only valid if the -m (or --create-home) option is specified.

       If this option is not set, the skeleton directory is defined
       by the SKEL variable in /etc/default/useradd or, by default, /etc/skel.

   -K, --key KEY=VALUE
       Overrides /etc/login.defs defaults
       (UID_MIN, UID_MAX, UMASK, PASS_MAX_DAYS and others).

       Example: -K PASS_MAX_DAYS=-1 can be used when creating system account
       to turn off password ageing, even though system account has no password
       at all. Multiple -K options can be specified, e.g.: -K UID_MIN=100 -K UID_MAX=499

       Note: -K UID_MIN=10,UID_MAX=499 doesn't work yet.

   -l, --no-log-init
       Do not add the user to the lastlog and faillog databases.

       By default, the user's entries in the lastlog and faillog databases
       are resetted to avoid reusing the entry from a previously deleted user.

   -m, --create-home
       Create the user's home directory if it does not exist.
       The files and directories contained in the skeleton directory
       (which can be defined with the -k option) will be copied to the home directory.

       By default, no home directories are created.

   -M
       Do not create the user's home directory, even if the system wide
       setting from /etc/login.defs (CREATE_HOME) is set to yes.

   -N, --no-user-group
       Do not create a group with the same name as the user, but add
       the user to the group specified by the -g option or by the
       GROUP variable in /etc/default/useradd.

       The default behavior (if the -g, -N, and -U options are not specified)
       is defined by the USERGROUPS_ENAB variable in /etc/login.defs.

   -o, --non-unique
       Allow the creation of a user account with a duplicate (non-unique) UID.

       This option is only valid in combination with the -o option.

   -p, --password PASSWORD
       The encrypted password, as returned by crypt(3).
       The default is to disable the password.

       Note: This option is not recommended because the password
       (or encrypted password) will be visible by users listing the processes.

       You should make sure the password respects the system's password policy.

   -r, --system
       Create a system account.

       System users will be created with no aging information in /etc/shadow,
       and their numeric identifiers are choosen in the
       SYS_UID_MIN-SYS_UID_MAX range, defined in /etc/login.defs, instead of
       UID_MIN-UID_MAX (and their GID counterparts for the creation of groups).

       Note that useradd will not create a home directory for such an user,
       regardless of the default setting in /etc/login.defs (CREATE_HOME).
       You have to specify the -m options if you want a home directory for
       a system account to be created.

   -s, --shell 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 specified by the SHELL variable in
       /etc/default/useradd, or an empty string by default.

   -u, --uid 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 999 and greater than every other user.
       Values between 0 and 999 are typically reserved for system accounts.

   -U, --user-group
       Create a group with the same name as the user, and add the user to this group.
   
       The default behavior (if the -g, -N, and -U options are not specified)
       is defined by the USERGROUPS_ENAB variable in /etc/login.defs.

   -Z, --selinux-user SEUSER
       The SELinux user for the user's login.
       The default is to leave this field blank, which causes the system to
       select the default SELinux user. 

   Changing the default values

   When invoked with only the -D option, useradd will display the current
   default values. When invoked with -D plus other options, useradd will
   update the default values for the specified options.

   Valid default-changing options are:

   -b, --base-dir BASE_DIR
       The path prefix for a new user's home directory.
       The user's name will be affixed to the end of BASE_DIR to form
       the new user's home directory name, if the -d option is not used
       when creating a new account.

       This option sets the HOME variable in /etc/default/useradd.

   -e, --expiredate EXPIRE_DATE
       The date on which the user account is disabled.

       This option sets the EXPIRE variable in /etc/default/useradd.

   -f, --inactive INACTIVE
       The number of days after a password has expired before the
       account will be disabled.

       This option sets the INACTIVE variable in /etc/default/useradd.

   -g, --gid GROUP
       The group name or ID for a new user's initial group
       (when the -N/--no-user-group is used or when the USERGROUPS_ENAB
       variable is set to no in /etc/login.defs.
       The named group must exist, and a numerical group ID must have an existing entry.

       This option sets the GROUP variable in /etc/default/useradd.

   v-s, --shell SHELL
       The name of a new user's login shell.

       This option sets the SHELL variable in /etc/default/useradd.

Notes

The system administrator is responsible for placing the default user files in the /etc/skel/ directory (or any other skeleton directory specified in /etc/default/useradd or on the command line).

Caveats

You can not add a user to a NIS or LDAP group. This must be performed on the corresponding server.

Similarly, if the username already exists in an external user database such as NIS or LDAP, useradd will deny the user account creation request.

Usernames can only be up to 32 characters long.

Configuration

The following configuration variables in /etc/login.defs change the behavior of this tool:

CREATE_HOME (boolean)
Indicate if a home directory should be created by default for new users.
This setting does not apply to system users, and can be overriden on the command line.

GID_MAX (number), GID_MIN (number)
Range of group IDs used for the creation of regular groups by useradd, groupadd, or newusers.

MAIL_DIR (string)
The mail spool directory. This is needed to manipulate the mailbox when its corresponding user account is modified or deleted. If not specified, a compile-time default is used.

MAIL_FILE (string)
Defines the location of the users mail spool files relatively to their home directory.
The MAIL_DIR and MAIL_FILE variables are used by useradd, usermod, and userdel to create, move, or delete the user's mail spool.

If MAIL_CHECK_ENAB is set to yes, they are also used to define the MAIL environment variable.

MAX_MEMBERS_PER_GROUP (number)
Maximum members per group entry. When the maximum is reached, a new group entry (line) is started in /etc/group (with the same name, same password, and same GID).

The default value is 0, meaning that there are no limits in the number of members in a group.

This feature (split group) permits to limit the length of lines in the group file. This is useful to make sure that lines for NIS groups are not larger than 1024 characters.

If you need to enforce such limit, you can use 25.

Note: split groups might not be supported by all tools (even in the Shadow toolsuite). You should not use this variable unless you really need it.

PASS_MAX_DAYS (number)
The maximum number of days a password can be used. If the password is older than this, a password change will be forced. If not specified, -1 will be assumed (which disables the restriction).

PASS_MIN_DAYS (number)
The minimum number of days allowed between password changes. Any password changes attempted sooner than this will be rejected. If not specified, -1 will be assumed (which disables the restriction).

PASS_WARN_AGE (number)
The number of days warning given before a password expires. A zero means warning is given only upon the day of expiration, a negative value means no warning is given. If not specified, no warning will be provided.

SYS_GID_MAX (number), SYS_GID_MIN (number)
Range of group IDs used for the creation of system groups by useradd, groupadd, or newusers.

SYS_UID_MAX (number), SYS_UID_MIN (number)
Range of user IDs used for the creation of system users by useradd or newusers.

UID_MAX (number), UID_MIN (number)
Range of user IDs used for the creation of regular users by useradd or newusers.

UMASK (number)
The file mode creation mask is initialized to this value. If not specified, the mask will be initialized to 022.

useradd and newusers use this mask to set the mode of the home directory they create

It is also used by login to define users' initial umask. Note that this mask can be overriden by the user's GECOS line (if QUOTAS_ENAB is set) or by the specification of a limit with the K identifier in limits(5).
USERGROUPS_ENAB (boolean)
Enable setting of the umask group bits to be the same as owner bits (examples: 022 -> 002, 077 -> 007) for non-root users, if the uid is the same as gid, and username is the same as the primary group name.

If set to yes, userdel will remove the user's group if it contains no more members, and useradd will create by default a group with the name of the user.

Files

/etc/passwd
    User account information. 
/etc/shadow
    Secure user account information. 
/etc/group
    Group account information. 
/etc/gshadow
    Secure group account information. 
/etc/default/useradd
    Default values for account creation. 
/etc/skel/
    Directory containing default files. 
/etc/login.defs
    Shadow password suite configuration.

Exit Values:

0    success 
1    can't update password file 
2    invalid command syntax 
3    invalid argument to option 
4    UID already in use (and no -o) 
6    specified group doesn't exist 
9    username already in use 
10   can't update group file 
12   can't create home directory 
13   can't create mail spool 

Examples

Create a new user and set a password:

$ useradd johng
$ passwd johng

Create a new user and set an account expiry date :

$ useradd -e 2021-12-31 johng

Create a new user and set a 30 day password expiry (30 days after the password expires the account will expire unless the password is changed):

$ useradd -f 30 johng

Create a new user and set an account and password expiry:

$ useradd -e 2021-12-31 -f 30 johng

"Surround yourself with people that want more out of life. That won’t settle for average. People that you can connect with on a deeper level. Keep your circle fresh. Keep your circle full of quality rather than quantity. Full of cool ass humans that you can be yourself around. People that fill you up with nothing but love. People that want to see you succeed. People that GET IT. Good circle, good life!” ~ Genereux Philip

Related linux commands

usermod - Modify user account.
userdel - Delete a user account.
chpasswd - Update passwords in batch mode.
passwd - Modify a user password.
crypt(3)
groupadd - Add a new group.
Equivalent Windows command: New-adUser - Create a new AD user.


 
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