- \n
- How To Add a User in Arch Linux<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Through useradd Command<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Through the system User Settings<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Adding a User to a Group<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Modifying User Details in Arch Linux<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- How to Switch Users in Arch Linux<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- How To Remove a User from Arch Linux<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Conclusion<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/a>How To Add a User in Arch Linux<\/h2>\n
In Arch Linux, the process of adding a user is simple, primarily there are two types of users, one with administrator privileges and the other without administrator privileges. Furthermore, there are different groups in every Linux distribution that deal with the permissions for accessing (reading, writing, and executing) any file or data of the system. On Arch Linux, there are two ways to add a user, which are:<\/p>\n
<\/a>Through useradd Command<\/h3>\n
To add a user in Arch Linux, whether you want an administrator user or a simple user with limited permissions, useradd<\/em> command is normally used. However, the process for creating both the users is different:<\/p>\n
<\/a>1: Adding a User without administrator privileges<\/h3>\n
To create a simple user, just use the useradd<\/em> command along with the m flag, which is responsible for creating a separate directory for the new user:<\/p>\n
useradd -m<\/span> username<\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-1.png\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nOnce the user is created, set the password for the user by using the passwd<\/em> command:<\/p>\n
passwd<\/span> <<\/span>User-name><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-2.png\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nAlternatively, you can set the password while creating a user, and for that use the p flag for it:<\/p>\n
sudo<\/span> useradd -m<\/span> <<\/span>user-name><\/span> -p<\/span> <<\/span>user-password><\/span><\/div><\/div>\nOnce the user is created, you can verify it by executing the awk<\/em> command:<\/p>\n
awk<\/span> -F<\/span>':'<\/span> '{ print $1}'<\/span> \/<\/span>etc\/<\/span>passwd<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-3.png\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nFurther to confirm the permissions about the user simply login to it through the terminal and execute whoami <\/em>command:<\/p>\n
sudo<\/span> whoami<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-4.png\")
<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>2: Adding a User with Administrator Privileges<\/h3>\n
Unlike the other Linux distributions, Arch Linux has a group called wheel which is considered as a sudo group, so to create a user with administrator rights use the G flag along with its name:<\/p>\n
sudo<\/span> useradd -m<\/span> -G<\/span> wheel <<\/span>User-name><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-5.png\")
<\/p>\nIn the sudoers file of Arch Linux you will find a group named sudo but adding a user to that group won\u2019t be possible as the sudo group is replaced by the wheel group. You can see the error of group sudo doesn\u2019t exist<\/em> in the image below:<\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-6.png\")
<\/p>\nFurther, if at any instance you want to give administrator rights to a nonadministrator user, then use the usermod<\/em> command along with the a and G flag. Here, the a flag is used to append a user to the supplementary group and is only valid with the G flag:<\/p>\n
sudo<\/span> usermod -a<\/span> -G<\/span> wheel <<\/span>use-name><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-7.png\")
<\/p>\nAlternatively, you can add the user with administrator rights by giving it access to all the permissions to modify the system. For that, add the following line along with the username in the Arch sudoers file:<\/p>\n
%<<\/span>user-name><\/span> ALL<\/span>=(<\/span>ALL:ALL)<\/span> ALL<\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-8.png\")
<\/p>\nNext, just create the user with the same name given in the sudoers file:<\/p>\n
sudo<\/span> useradd -m<\/span> <<\/span>user-name><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-9.png\")
<\/p>\nNow set the password for the administrator user:<\/p>\n
sudo<\/span> passwd<\/span> <<\/span>user-name><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-10.png\")
<\/p>\nUpon verification of the created user you will see the root in the output which means this Arch user has admin rights:<\/p>\n
sudo<\/span> whoami<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-11.png\")
<\/p>\nFurther, you can verify the permission by listing the commands by using the l flag:<\/p>\n
sudo<\/span> -l<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-12.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>Through System User Settings<\/h3>\n
Another method for adding a user in Arch Linux is by navigating it to the system user settings. Once you are in the user settings, unlock them first by password authentication:<\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-13.png\")
<\/p>\nNext, click on the Add User<\/strong> option at the bottom and then add the details for the new user which include its name, username, and password. Here you will see the option for giving the user administrator rights, so to make an administrator user turn it on. You can also set the password on the user’s first login and once you are done with entering the details, just click Add<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-14.png\")
<\/p>\nNow the new user will be listed below at the bottom:<\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-15.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>Adding a User to a Group<\/h3>\n
Adding users to a group on Arch is beneficial if each user has been assigned a specific role, and then assigning them each to a group can segregate the users. This will help in managing and organizing the user access to the system:<\/p>\n
sudo<\/span> groupmod -a<\/span> -U<\/span> <<\/span>user-name><\/span> <<\/span>group-name><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-16.png\")
<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>Modifying User Details in Arch Linux<\/h3>\n
Once you have added the user in Arch Linux, you can modify or change its details by executing usermod<\/em> command. Like if you want to change the shell for any user, then in that case use the s flag along with the username and shell name:<\/p>\n
sudo<\/span> usermod -s<\/span> <<\/span>shell-name><\/span> <<\/span>user-name><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-17.png\")
<\/p>\nIn all the Linux systems each user has its identification number that represents the user in the Linux kernel so on Arch Linux you change the user identification number for various reasons like reorganizing user accounts, migrating across different platforms or changing the permissions:<\/p>\n
sudo<\/span> usermod -u<\/span> <<\/span>new-UID><\/span> <<\/span>user-name><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-18.png\")
<\/p>\nNote:<\/strong> There are some drawbacks for changing the UID like breaking the ownership and permissions, causing compatibility issues or creating security risks if not done properly.<\/p>\n
The next thing that you can modify is adding small information about the user which clarifies the role of the user. For that, use the c flag along with the usermod<\/em> command:<\/p>\n
sudo<\/span> usermod -c<\/span> "<info-to-be-added>"<\/span> <<\/span>user-name><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-19.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>How To Switch Users in Arch Linux<\/h2>\n
Once the user is created, you can switch to that new user if you want to install any applications or set up any file or folder. There are two ways to switch a user on Arch, one is by using the GUI and the other one is by using the terminal. Through GUI click on the power icon on the top right side and from the drop-down menu select Switch User<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-20.png\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nNow login to the new user you created:<\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/linuxways.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/word-image-25042-21.png\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nTo switch to another user on Arch through the terminal is fairly simple, just execute the su <\/em>command along with the username:<\/p>\n
- Through useradd Command<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
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