Creating Home Directories Automatically with Useradd Command

The useradd command in Linux is used to create new user accounts. One of its useful options is -m or --create-home, which automatically creates a home directory for the new user. This simplifies the process of setting up new accounts by ensuring that essential user directories are in place upon creation.

Let’s explore this option with a few examples:

Example 1: Create a new user ‘john’ with a home directory:

    useradd -m john
    

This command adds a new user ‘john’ and creates a home directory /home/john. To verify, you can check the existence of the directory using:

    ls /home/john
    

Output (if successful):

    Desktop  Documents  Downloads  Music  Pictures  Videos
    

Example 2: Create a user ‘mary’ with a custom home directory path:

    useradd -m -d /data/users/mary mary
    

This command creates a user ‘mary’ with a home directory specified as /data/users/mary. To verify, check the specified directory:

    ls /data/users/mary
    

Output (if successful):

    (contents of /data/users/mary)
    

Example 3: Add a user ‘jane’ with an encrypted home directory:

    useradd -m -p '*' jane
    

This command creates the user ‘jane’ and initializes an encrypted home directory. Verification involves checking the encrypted home directory setup.

Example 4: Create a user ‘test’ with additional group assignments:

    useradd -m -G developers,testers test
    

This adds user ‘test’ with primary group ‘developers’ and secondary group ‘testers’. To verify, check the group memberships of ‘test’:

    groups test
    

Output (if successful):

    test : developers testers
    

Example 5: Specify a custom shell for user ‘admin’ upon creation:

    useradd -m -s /bin/bash admin
    

This sets the shell for ‘admin’ to /bin/bash. Verification involves checking the shell assignment:

    grep admin /etc/passwd
    

Output (if successful):

    admin:x:1001:1001::/home/admin:/bin/bash
    

Example 6: Create a user ‘backup’ with a specific UID:

    useradd -m -u 2000 backup
    

This assigns the UID ‘2000’ to the user ‘backup’. Verification involves checking the UID assignment:

    id backup
    

Output (if successful):

    uid=2000(backup) gid=2000(backup) groups=2000(backup)
    

Example 7: Create a system user ‘daemon’ without a home directory:

    useradd -r daemon
    

This creates a system user ‘daemon’ with no home directory. Verification involves checking for the absence of a home directory:

    ls /home/daemon
    

Output (if successful):

    ls: cannot access '/home/daemon': No such file or directory
    

Example 8: Create a user ‘ftp’ with a specific comment (GECOS field):

    useradd -m -c "FTP User" ftp
    

This adds user ‘ftp’ with the comment “FTP User”. Verification involves checking the user’s details:

    finger ftp
    

Output (if successful):

    Login: ftp                   Name: FTP User
    Directory: /home/ftp         Shell: /bin/bash
    

Example 9: Create a user ‘guest’ and specify an expiration date:

    useradd -m -e 2025-12-31 guest
    

This creates user ‘guest’ with an account expiration date of December 31, 2025. Verification involves checking the account expiration status:

    chage -l guest
    

Output (if successful):

    Last password change                                    : Jun 21, 2024
    Password expires                                        : never
    Password inactive                                       : never
    Account expires                                         : Dec 31, 2025
    Minimum number of days between password change          : 0
    Maximum number of days between password change          : 99999
    Number of days of warning before password expires       : 7
    

Example 10: Create a user ‘sales’ and assign a custom skeleton directory:

    useradd -m -k /etc/skel_sales sales
    

This command adds user ‘sales’ and copies the contents of /etc/skel_sales to the new user’s home directory. Verification involves checking the contents of ‘sales’ home directory:

    ls /home/sales
    

Output (if successful):

    (contents of /home/sales)