User Management

[edit] Summary

A simple guide to setting up users on ArchLinux.

To set up a new user, type the command:

useradd -d /home/<username> -g users -G <insert other groups here> -m <username>

This command will set up a user. Groups are discussed below.

For more advanced uses of useradd, type:

man useradd

To set up the users password, type:

passwd <username>

A wizard tool for adding users is

adduser

It asks you about the user, so it can construct a useradd command to run. It also sets the password and changes finger information.

This is a list of the important groups that you might have a user join.

Information on default important groups in ArchLinux.
Group	Description
floppy	Allows access to any floppy drives.
network	Enables the user to change network settings.
optical	Enables the user to access the CD drive.
storage	Enables the user to mount storage devices through hal and dbus.
video	Allows direct access to video components. (Note: X can be used without being in this group)
wheel	Allow access to the root account through tools like sudo (if you enabled it via visudo).

For a list of all the groups on your system, type cat /etc/group

To add a user to a group, type:

gpasswd -a <username> <group>