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I created a new user (testuser) using the useradd command on an Ubuntu server Virtual machine. I would like to create a home directory for the user and also give them root provileges.

However, when I login as the new user, it complains that there is no home directory. What am I doing wrong?

terdon
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Beginner
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  • I answered the main question about creating a home dir. Giving a new user root access is an unrelated issue and should be asked separately. Basically, you just need to add the user to the `sudo` group. – terdon Jan 31 '15 at 16:25

3 Answers3

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Finally I found how to do this myself:

   useradd -m -d /home/testuser/ -s /bin/bash -G sudo testuser

-m creates the home directory if it does not exist.
-d overrides the default home directory location. -s sets the login shell for the user.
-G expects a comma-separated list of groups that the user should belong to.

See man useradd for details.

Stephen Kitt
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    what is the -d flag doing, or the -G flag doing – Alexander Mills May 16 '18 at 17:57
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    `-m` creates the home directory if it does not exist. `-d` overrides the default home directory location. `-s` sets the login shell for the user. `-G` expects a comma-separated list of groups that the user should belong to. – Alastair Harrison Sep 17 '18 at 14:48
  • One problem I'm having with this method is it doesn't create the default contents in the user dir, like "Downloads" or ".ssh" for example, but there are others. – openCivilisation Apr 05 '21 at 04:21
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The useradd program has been deprecated in favor of adduser. From man useradd:

useradd is a low level utility for adding users. On Debian,
administrators should usually use adduser(8) instead.

adduser is a friendlier frontend to useradd and will do things like create user directories by default. When you run it with only a username as an argument, you will be prompted to provide additional information such as the password:

$ sudo adduser testuser
Adding user `testuser' ...
Adding new group `testuser' (1002) ...
Adding new user `testuser' (1002) with group `testuser' ...
Creating home directory `/home/testuser' ...
Copying files from `/etc/skel' ...
Enter new UNIX password: 
Retype new UNIX password: 
passwd: password updated successfully
Changing the user information for testuser
Enter the new value, or press ENTER for the default
    Full Name []: 
    Room Number []: 
    Work Phone []: 
    Home Phone []: 
    Other []: 
Is the information correct? [Y/n]

In general, you should always use adduser instead of useradd since this will also set up the required groups automatically. As explained in man adduser:

   adduser  and  addgroup  add users and groups to the system according to
   command    line    options    and    configuration    information    in
   /etc/adduser.conf.   They  are  friendlier  front ends to the low level
   tools like useradd, groupadd and usermod programs, by default  choosing
   Debian  policy conformant UID and GID values, creating a home directory
   with skeletal configuration, running a custom script,  and  other  fea‐
   tures.
terdon
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    i dont want use adduser command. – Beginner Jan 31 '15 at 17:56
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    @rajcoumar umm, why? That's the right tool for the job. If you insist on using the wrong tool, you will have to manually create the home directory and the user groups and copy the default files from `/etc/skel` etc., etc. That is why the Official Debian Way® is to use `adduser`. – terdon Jan 31 '15 at 18:14
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    #terdon ya correct.. but i am writing a shell script using useradd command only – Beginner Feb 01 '15 at 11:36
  • @rajcoumar OK, then you have to either create everything manually, or just change the script to use adjuster instead. Just create an /etc/adduser.conf file. – terdon Feb 01 '15 at 14:45
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    just look at my answer, I don't know its a correct one but it works for me – Beginner Feb 02 '15 at 03:38
  • I tried your approach on CentOS 7, but it does not resolve the problem. Are you willing to comment? [here is the link](https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/365263/useradd-cannot-create-directory) – CodeMed May 15 '17 at 22:57
  • @CodeMed this is the recommended way for *Debian*-based systems, not CentOS. On CentOS you'll probably need to use `useradd`. – terdon May 15 '17 at 23:25
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    adduser is an interactive wrapper to useradd - it is not appropriate in scripted solutions, particularly dockerfiles. – Routhinator Jan 28 '18 at 20:43
  • @terdon `useradd` is not deprecated. Like @routhinator has mentioned, `adduser` is a utility that uses `useradd` in conjunction with other utilities to provide a "friendlier frontend". Please remove the "deprecated" statement. [adduser vs useradd](https://askubuntu.com/a/345986/1577007) – Brennan Aug 17 '23 at 14:02
  • @Brennan on Debian-based systems, it is deprecated in favor of `adduser` as shown in the man page I quoted. It isn't deprecated overall, but this was about Debian where the official advice is to not use `useradd` and use `adduser` instead. – terdon Aug 17 '23 at 14:05
  • @terdon : The manpage line you refer to "useradd is a low level utility for adding users. On Debian, administrators should usually use adduser(8) instead." - Administrators != scripts. Administrator is a person at an interactive shell. Scripting should use low-level, predictable processes for consistent results in non-interactive conditions. – Routhinator Aug 17 '23 at 18:35
  • @Routhinator the question isn't about scripts, it's about an administrator manually creating a new user. If the question were about scripting, then yes, `useradd` would make more sense since it isn't interactive, but for the purposes of this question, I think that _deprecated_ is right. If you still object, by all means suggest an edit. These are supposed to be collaborative sites, after all :) – terdon Aug 17 '23 at 18:38
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useradd -m LOGIN

creates the user's home directory

jasonwryan
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