Creating a New User on Ubuntu Server 24

Creating and managing users on Ubuntu Server is a fundamental skill for system administrators. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the entire process of adding a new user, assigning appropriate privileges, and verifying the setup on Ubuntu Server 24.

1. Access the Terminal

To start, you need to access the terminal on your Ubuntu Server. If you're working directly on the server, you should already be at the terminal. If you're connecting remotely, use SSH to log in.

ssh your-username@your-server-ip
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2. Create a New User

The adduser command is used to create a new user. Replace newuser with your desired username. The adduser command is user-friendly and prompts you to enter additional information.

sudo adduser newuser
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Steps:

1. Enter and confirm a password for the new user.
2. Provide additional user information such as Full Name, Room Number, Work Phone, Home Phone, and Other. You can press Enter to skip fields you don't want to fill in.

3. Grant Administrative Privileges (Optional)

If the new user needs administrative privileges, you'll need to add them to the sudo group. This step is optional and should be used only if the user requires elevated permissions.

sudo usermod -aG sudo newuser
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Explanation:

• usermod is the command to modify a user account.
• aG adds the user to the specified group.
• sudo is the group that grants administrative permissions.

4. Verify the New User

To ensure that the new user has been created successfully, you can list the home directories:

ls /home
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You should see the new user's directory listed.

To switch to the new user account and verify that it works, use the following command:

su - newuser
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This command switches the current user to newuser. You will need to enter the password you set during the user creation process.

5. Additional User Management Commands

Here are some additional commands that might be useful for managing users:

• Delete a User:

  sudo deluser newuser
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  To delete the user's home directory as well:

  sudo deluser --remove-home newuser
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• Change a User's Password:

  sudo passwd newuser
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• View User Information:

  id newuser
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6. Conclusion

You've now successfully created and configured a new user on your Ubuntu Server 24. This user can be customized further according to your needs, and you can manage user permissions to fit various administrative roles.