Linux set user home directory

Linux Change Default User Home Directory While Adding A New User

B y default base directory for the system user is set to /home directory. I’d like to add user to /iscsi/home/$ directory instead of the default /home. How do I force useradd command to add user to /iscsi/home under CentOS / RHEL / Fedora Linux server?

Default values for account creation defined in /etc/default/useradd file under CentOS / RHEL / Fedora / Debian / Ubuntu and other Linux distros. Simply open this file using a text editor, type:
# vi /etc/default/useradd
The default home directory defined by HOME variable, find line that read as follows:
HOME=/home
Replace with:
HOME=/iscsi/user
Save and close the file. Now you can add user using regular useradd command:
# useradd vivek
# passwd vivek

Verify user information:
# finger vivek
Output:

How Do I Change Existing User’s Home Directory?

You need to use the usermod command to set the user’s new login directory. The syntax is as follows:

• No ads and tracking
• In-depth guides for developers and sysadmins at Opensourceflare✨
• Join my Patreon to support independent content creators and start reading latest guides:
  • How to set up Redis sentinel cluster on Ubuntu or Debian Linux
  • How To Set Up SSH Keys With YubiKey as two-factor authentication (U2F/FIDO2)
  • How to set up Mariadb Galera cluster on Ubuntu or Debian Linux
  • A podman tutorial for beginners – part I (run Linux containers without Docker and in daemonless mode)
  • How to protect Linux against rogue USB devices using USBGuard

Join Patreon ➔

1. -d dirnanme : Path to new login (home) directory.
2. -m : The contents of the current home directory will be moved to the new home directory, which is created if it does not already exist.

In this example set the user’s new login directory to /users/v/vivek from /home/vivek, enter:
# usermod -m -d /users/v/vivek vivek

🐧 Get the latest tutorials on Linux, Open Source & DevOps via

Category	List of Unix and Linux commands
Documentation	help • mandb • man • pinfo
Disk space analyzers	df • duf • ncdu • pydf
File Management	cat • cp • less • mkdir • more • tree
Firewall	Alpine Awall • CentOS 8 • OpenSUSE • RHEL 8 • Ubuntu 16.04 • Ubuntu 18.04 • Ubuntu 20.04
Linux Desktop Apps	Skype • Spotify • VLC 3
Modern utilities	bat • exa
Network Utilities	NetHogs • dig • host • ip • nmap
OpenVPN	CentOS 7 • CentOS 8 • Debian 10 • Debian 8/9 • Ubuntu 18.04 • Ubuntu 20.04
Package Manager	apk • apt
Processes Management	bg • chroot • cron • disown • fg • glances • gtop • jobs • killall • kill • pidof • pstree • pwdx • time • vtop
Searching	ag • grep • whereis • which
Shell builtins	compgen • echo • printf
Text processing	cut • rev
User Information	groups • id • lastcomm • last • lid/libuser-lid • logname • members • users • whoami • who • w
WireGuard VPN	Alpine • CentOS 8 • Debian 10 • Firewall • Ubuntu 20.04

Comments on this entry are closed.

or specify the home with -d in useradd command

Nice…info…but it doesnt work ;_( it still gives same error as before changeing in /etc/default/usradd

]# useradd -d /root/lvm/ mas
useradd: warning: the home directory already exists.
Not copying any file from skel directory into it.

Hi All,
Anyone who can teach me the solution for this problem:

I add a user jayabellon using this command:
useradd -u 888 -g oinstall -G dba -d /home/jayabellon -r jayabellon

i forgot to create home directory when I log-In so it prompts me cannot go to that directory.

I deleted the user and retry to create again.

But still, when I log-In, this is what it looks like:
-bash-3.00$

I am expecting it to be
[user@hostname]$

this is my entry in /etc/passwd:
jayabellon:x:888:501:jayabellon:/home/jayabellon:/bin/bash

actually, i am only working in a test server. Nothing much critical on this one.
It’s just that its my first time to create user using command line, because i usually do it in GUI based.

Even I have the same problem. If you get any solution please mail me. One solution I can give that re-install the operating system,even I did the same.

-bash-3.00$ finger jayabellon
Login: jayabellon Name: jayabellon
Directory: /home/jayabellon Shell: /bin/bash
Never logged in.
No mail.
No Plan.

Pass -m option to useradd command to create users home dir.

it’s in man page also.

found that it’s faster to create user in command line rather than using GUI Administration tool.

Any chance you can provide a similar command for Oracle SQL?

Thanks. I’ve been wondering how to change the default home directory for a while now. Glad I found this to explain how.
Your comment is awaiting moderation.

This is just nonsense of a blog, when the same thing can be achieved with usermod command with -d option to change the home directory.

It’s really not “nonsense of a blog.” The whole point is so that it is a default, so you DON’T have to do the -d option every time. Why make things harder on yourself? Set all the defaults in the config files, and then just useradd and be done with it.

home directory already exits.
not copying any file from skel directory into it
when i login to oracle user it show me
-bash-3.00$

Thanks a lot you saved me.. since the syntax was so complicated..

what i did wrong was while trying to change existing username to new one..

I was logged as root since it’s not good to change username while being logged under it.. everything went smooth i even appended the groups to my new user but since i didn’t specify the path to the new home directory after -dm all of the old folder was moved by default to the root folder instead of home since i was logged as root.. so be careful guys to specify path or just log into any other user you have that has folder in home$ or i guess excute the command in the target folder .. here what i used to change username:

usermod -dm -Ga ,sudo -l

to understand this go to the man page..

sorry but trying to add syntax with but gets deleted.

add this to first comment

forgot to mention that combining options letters won’t work which i guess is weird since it;s used in tar -vzf … but i guess some commands don’t agree.. thanks again i’ve just moved my whole folders to the destination.. u r the best not even the man instructions since those are stupid for not giving no examples.. thanks again guys..

Thanks for the article.
When changing the default home dir in /etc/default/useradd, I suggest to change it in /etc/adduser.conf as well (variable DHOME) – otherwise users added by the command ‘adduser’ will have the wrong/old home still.
Regards

on rhel 5 I had to change the command slightly

usermod -d /users/v/vivek -m vivek

this applies to centos 5 as well

it’s working both combination of -m -d options

it’s working both combination of -m -d options
usermod -m -d

I tried too many times but it’s telling me that my user is used by a process 3284

I created a user using adduser :
useradd sacadmin
and added it to a group alcatel.
Now when I do su sacadmin it logs in, but there is no directory /sacadmin in /users.

I need a directory in users for this user and a bin in it like /users/sscadmin/bin

can we Modify Oracle_Base directory to other new directory after installation. Plz help me

change home directory in user1
cmd
#usermod -m -d /backup user1

usermod: user user1 is currently logged in
what is solve

Logout users1. Or kill user1 session:
pkill -KILL -u user1

Источник

How to rename Linux users and their home directory

Overview

In this tutorial, you will learn how to a rename a user in CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu and most other Linux distributions. More than that, you will also learn how to rename thier home directory, primary group, and change their UID.

Renaming Users in Linux

Linux provides a tool named usermod specifically for making modifications to user accounts. In this case we are using it to rename a user account, which is done using the -l flag.

For example, to rename a user named student1 to johndoe, you would run the usermod command as follows.

The -l flag will only change the user’s name. All other things attached to the user will remain unaffected, such as home directory. and UID.

Changing a User’s Home Directory in Linux

After renaming a user it may make sense to change their home directory, too. Otherwise, it would cause a lot of confusion trying to explain why johndoe ‘s home directory is /home/student .

To change the user’s home directory we once again use the usermod command. However, this time we need to perform to actions: change the home directory to a new path, and move the contents from the old path into the new path.

We set the new home directory path using the -d or —home flag with the path to the new directory. We must also use the -m flag to copy the contents of the old home directory into the new one.

Renaming a User’s Group

Every user on a Linux system is created with a group of the same name. When we change the name of a user their group name is left untouched. It’s a good idea to also change the user’s primary group name as well.

To change a user’s primary group name we use the groupmod command with the -n flag. We must supply the old name and a new name.

For example, to rename the newly renamed user johndoe ‘s primary group to johndoe from student1 , we would run the following command.

Changing a User’s UID

A little more rare than renaming a user or changing their home directory is changing their UID. A User’s UID is their unique ID on a Linux system. When we assign permissions to file and directories, we use their UID. Processes started by a user are also executed using a user’s UID.

To change a user’s ID we use the usermod command with the -u flag, followed by a new, unique integer.

For example, to set johndoes UID to 5001, we would run the following usermod command.

Источник

How to Create Home Directory for Existing User in Linux

By default when you create a user in Linux, users default home directory is created under /home. If you noticed on Ubuntu and Debian derivated distribution useradd command won’t create a home directory by default.

Let’s think of s situation where you have already created a user but the home directory is missing. In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a default home directory for an existing user in Linux.

Create default home directory for existing user

Here I am using Ubuntu 20.04 and going to create a user named ‘ bob’ using useradd command:

Useradd command has added an entry home directory in /etc/passwd file

If I try to login as the user using su — , it shows that it’s logging in with Home=/ . This means the user home directory is not created.

In Linux, a user’s default home directory is /home. To create a default home directory use mkhomedir_helper command.

Make sure to run mkhomedir_helper command as root or user with sudo access.

The previous command creates a home directory named «/home/bob» and user settings files.

For a graphical environment (such as GNOME or XFCE ), if you are missing subdirectories in the home directory, the user needs to log out and log in back.

When the user login the first time all subdirectories such as Pictures, Documents, Videos, and Downloads folders can be created in the home directory.

Another method is to delete the user and create a new user using -m or —create-home option.

The following command creates a home folder (-m) and set the specified home directory (-d) as the value for the new user’s login:

Conclusion

To conclude, If you are a Ubuntu fan you should be now using adduser command, it’s recommended by Debian. If you have an existing user, now you should be able to add default directory.

Thanks for reading and please drop your suggestions on the below comment section.

Источник

Создать домашний каталог для существующего пользователя в Linux

В этом кратком руководстве объясняется, как создать домашний каталог для существующего пользователя в Linux и Unix-подобных операционных системах с помощью команды mkhomedir_helper .

Как вы уже знаете, мы можем создать нового пользователя в Linux и Unix-подобных системах с помощью команды adduser , верно? Да все верно! Когда мы добавляем нового пользователя, по умолчанию автоматически создается домашний каталог для соответствующего пользователя.

Есть еще одна команда для создания пользователей в Linux. Это так useradd . После того, как я создал несколько пользователей с помощью команды useradd в Alpine Linux, я заметил, что каталоги $HOME для пользователей не создаются. Я не знал этого раньше. Прочитав справочные страницы команды useradd , я понял, что мне следовало включить -m (или —create-home ) опцию для создания новых пользователей в каталоге $HOME , как показано ниже:

Но я забыл включить эту опцию и создал несколько новых пользователей. Если вы похожи на меня, не удаляйте существующих пользователей и создавайте их заново с помощью опции -m . Вы можете легко создать домашний каталог для существующего пользователя в Linux с помощью команды mkhomedir_helper , не удаляя и не воссоздавая пользователя.

mkhomedir_helper вспомогательная программа для модуля pam_mkhomedir . Модуль pam_mkhomedir PAM создаст домашний каталог пользователя, если он не существует в начале сеанса. Сначала этот модуль создает домашние каталоги, а затем заполняет их содержимым указанного каталога skel. Значение по умолчанию umask — это 0022, а значение по умолчанию для пути к skel — /etc/skel.

Позвольте мне показать вам пример, чтобы объяснить, как создать домашний каталог для существующего пользователя с помощью mkhomedir_helper.

Во-первых, давайте создадим нового пользователя с именем ostechnix, используя команду useradd :

Установите пароль для пользователя:

Теперь переключитесь на нового пользователя:

Вы увидите следующее сообщение об ошибке:

Как видно из вышеприведенного вывода, домашний каталог для пользователя ostechnix не существует, отсюда и эта ошибка.

Давайте проверим это, заглянув в /homeкаталог:

Что ж, это правда, что у пользователя ostechnix нет домашнего каталога.

Итак, давайте создадим домашний каталог для существующего пользователя (то есть ostechnix в нашем случае) с помощью команды mkhomedir_helper .

Для этого сначала выйдите из системы пользователя ostechnix, если вы уже вошли в систему:

И выполните следующую команду, чтобы создать домашний каталог для пользователя с именем ostechnix :

Обратите внимание, что вы должны выполнить указанную выше команду как root пользователь или другой sudo пользователь.

Теперь переключитесь на пользователя ostechnix:

На этот раз вы не получите никакого предупреждающего сообщения, потому что домашний каталог для пользователя с именем ostechnix был создан с помощью команды mkhomedir_helper .

Для получения дополнительных сведений см. справочные страницы:

Теперь вы знаете, как создавать домашние каталоги после создания пользователей. Это может быть полезно, если вы забыли включить -m параметр при создании пользователей с помощью команды useradd.

Вместо использования useradd вы можете использовать adduser команду, которая автоматически создаст домашние каталоги пользователей без каких-либо параметров.

Источник