useradd
(8)create a new user or update default new user information
Options
27--badnameAllow names that do not conform to standards.
-b--base-dirBASE_DIRThe 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 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--commentCOMMENTAny text string. It is generally a short description of the account, and is currently used as the field for the user's full name.
-d--home-dirHOME_DIRThe 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. If the directory HOME_DIR does not exist, then it will be created unless the -M option is specified.
-D--defaultsSee below, the subsection "Changing the default values".
-e--expiredateEXPIRE_DATEThe date on which the user account will be disabled. The date is specified in the format YYYY-MM-DD. 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--inactiveINACTIVEdefines the number of days after the password exceeded its maximum age where the user is expected to replace this password. The value is stored in the shadow password file. An input of 0 will disable an expired password with no delay. An input of -1 will blank the respective field in the shadow password file. See shadow(5)for more information. If not specified, useradd will use the default inactivity period specified by the INACTIVE variable in /etc/default/useradd, or -1 by default.
-F--add-subids-for-systemUpdate /etc/subuid and /etc/subgid even when creating a system account with -r option.
-g--gidGROUPThe name or the number of the user's primary group. The group name must exist. A group number must refer to an already existing group. If not specified, the behavior 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 the 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
-G--groupsGROUP1A 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. In addition to passing in the -G flag, you can add the option GROUPS to the file /etc/default/useradd which in turn will add all users to those supplementary groups.
-h--helpDisplay help message and exit.
-k--skelSKEL_DIRThe 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. Absolute symlinks that link back to the skel directory will have the /etc/skel prefix replaced with the user's home directory. If possible, the ACLs and extended attributes are copied.
-K--keyKEYOverrides /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 an account to turn off password aging. Multiple -K options can be specified, e.g.: -K UID_MIN =100 -K UID_MAX=499
-l--no-log-initDo not add the user to the lastlog and faillog databases. By default, the user's entries in the lastlog and faillog databases are reset to avoid reusing the entry from a previously deleted user. If this option is not specified, useradd will also consult the variable LOG_INIT in the /etc/default/useradd if set to no the user will not be added to the lastlog and faillog databases.
-m--create-homeCreate 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, if this option is not specified and CREATE_HOME is not enabled, no home directories are created. The directory where the user's home directory is created must exist and have proper SELinux context and permissions. Otherwise the user's home directory cannot be created or accessed.
-M--no-create-homeDo 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-groupDo 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-uniqueallows the creation of an account with an already existing UID. This option is only valid in combination with the -u option. As a user identity serves as key to map between users on one hand and permissions, file ownerships and other aspects that determine the system's behavior on the other hand, more than one login name will access the account of the given UID.
-p--passwordPASSWORDdefines an initial password for the account. PASSWORD is expected to be encrypted, as returned by crypt (3). Within a shell script, this option allows to create efficiently batches of users. Without this option, the new account will be locked and with no password defined, i.e. a single exclamation mark in the respective field of /etc/shadow. This is a state where the user won't be able to access the account or to define a password himself. Note:Avoid this option on the command line because the password (or encrypted password) will be visible by users listing the processes. You should make sure
-r--systemCreate a system account. System users will be created with no aging information in /etc/shadow, and their numeric identifiers are chosen 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 a 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. Note that this option will not update /etc/subuid and /etc/subgid. You have t
-R--rootCHROOT_DIRApply changes in the CHROOT_DIR directory and use the configuration files from the CHROOT_DIR directory. Only absolute paths are supported.
-P--prefixPREFIX_DIRApply changes to configuration files under the root filesystem found under the directory PREFIX_DIR. This option does not chroot and is intended for preparing a cross-compilation target. Some limitations: NIS and LDAP users/groups are not verified. PAM authentication is using the host files. No SELINUX support.
-s--shellSHELLsets the path to the user's login shell. Without this option, the system will use the SHELL variable specified in /etc/default/useradd, or, if that is as well not set, the field for the login shell in /etc/passwd remains empty.
-u--uidUIDThe 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 or equal to UID_MIN and greater than every other user. See also the -r option and the UID_MAX description.
-U--user-groupCreate 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-userSEUSERdefines the SELinux user for the new account. Without this option, SELinux uses the default user. Note that the shadow system doesn't store the selinux-user, it uses semanage(8) for that.
--selinux-rangeSERANGEdefines the SELinux MLS range for the new account. Without this option, SELinux uses the default range. Note that the shadow system doesn't store the selinux-range, it uses semanage(8) for that. This option is only valid if the -Z (or --selinux-user) option is specified.
DESCRIPTION
useradd is a low level utility for adding users. On Debian, administrators should usually use adduser(8) instead.
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 may 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).
NOTES
CAVEATS
You may 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 may contain only lower and upper case letters, digits, underscores, or dashes. They can end with a dollar sign. Dashes are not allowed at the beginning of the username. Fully numeric usernames and usernames . or .. are also disallowed. It is not recommended to use usernames beginning with . character as their home directories will be hidden in the ls output.
Usernames may only be up to 256 characters long.
CONFIGURATION
The following configuration variables in /etc/login.defs change the behavior of this tool:
CREATE_HOME (boolean)
This setting does not apply to system users, and can be overridden on the command line.
GID_MAX (number), GID_MIN (number)
The default value for GID_MIN (resp. GID_MAX) is 1000 (resp. 60000).
HOME_MODE (number)
useradd and newusers use this to set the mode of the home directory they create.
LASTLOG_UID_MAX (number)
No LASTLOG_UID_MAX option present in the configuration means that there is no user ID limit for writing lastlog entries.
MAIL_DIR (string)
MAIL_FILE (string)
The MAIL_DIR and MAIL_FILE variables are used by useradd, usermod, and userdel to create, move, or delete the user's mail spool.
MAX_MEMBERS_PER_GROUP (number)
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 may 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)
PASS_MIN_DAYS (number)
PASS_WARN_AGE (number)
SUB_GID_MIN (number), SUB_GID_MAX (number), SUB_GID_COUNT (number)
The default values for SUB_GID_MIN, SUB_GID_MAX, SUB_GID_COUNT are respectively 100000, 600100000 and 65536.
SUB_UID_MIN (number), SUB_UID_MAX (number), SUB_UID_COUNT (number)
The default values for SUB_UID_MIN, SUB_UID_MAX, SUB_UID_COUNT are respectively 100000, 600100000 and 65536.
SYS_GID_MAX (number), SYS_GID_MIN (number)
The default value for SYS_GID_MIN (resp. SYS_GID_MAX) is 101 (resp. GID_MIN-1).
SYS_UID_MAX (number), SYS_UID_MIN (number)
The default value for SYS_UID_MIN (resp. SYS_UID_MAX) is 101 (resp. UID_MIN-1).
UID_MAX (number), UID_MIN (number)
The default value for UID_MIN (resp. UID_MAX) is 1000 (resp. 60000).
UMASK (number)
useradd and newusers use this mask to set the mode of the home directory they create if HOME_MODE is not set.
It is also used by pam_umask as the default umask value.
USERGROUPS_ENAB (boolean)
FILES
/etc/passwd
/etc/shadow
/etc/group
/etc/gshadow
/etc/default/useradd
/etc/shadow-maint/useradd-pre.d/*, /etc/shadow-maint/useradd-post.d/*
/etc/skel/
/etc/subgid
/etc/subuid
/etc/login.defs
EXIT VALUES
The useradd command exits with the following values:
0
1
2
3
4
6
9
10
12
14
19