User Management

User management covers accounts, groups, passwords, and privilege elevation.

Overview

  • Users can be created, modified, grouped, and removed
  • sudo is the standard way to run a command with elevated privileges without logging in as root
  • Group membership is a common way to grant shared access

Reference

Command Purpose
sudo Run a command as another user, usually root
su Switch user and start a shell
useradd Create a user
userdel Remove a user
usermod Modify a user account
addgroup Add a group
delgroup Remove a group
passwd Change a password

Mental Model

  • Users own access
  • Groups share access
  • sudo provides controlled privilege escalation
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