Sudo (shortened for super-user do) command allows a regular user to execute a program with root privileges temporarily in UNIX or Linux operating systems. The ‘sudo command’ gives you administrative permissions to execute a program on your Linux system.
This tutorial will demonstrate you how to create a sudo user in Debian 11 bullseye distribution. Moreover, you also learn how to add a user to the sudo group and test sudo access.
Create a sudo user in Debian
Implement the following number of steps to create a new sudo user. You can also configure sudo privileges for an existing user. For an existing account, you will skip step 2.
Step 1: Log in as a Root user to your Debian system
First, log in as a root user on your system using the GUI or by using this command:
$ ssh root@server_ip_address
Replace the Ip_address with your server’s IP address.
Step 2: Create a new user
You should have the root privileges to create a new user. So now, create a new user by using this command:
$ adduser user_name
For example, we have created a new user account with the name ‘sudo_admin’ by using the above command:
$ adduser sudo_admin
This command will prompt you to enter the password and then retype to confirm it.
Important Note: it is recommended that always choose a strong password for new sudo users. For a strong password, you can include letters, numbers, and special characters.
Once you confirm the new user account password. The above command will frequently create a home directory for this new user and copies all the configuration files in the directory. Further, it prompts you to enter more information about the new user’s account. You can leave these fields blank and press Enter with the default settings.
Step 3: Add user to sudo group
All sudo group members of the ‘sudo’ group are granted sudo access on Debian systems. By using the ‘usermod’ command, you can easily add an existing or a new user to a sudo group.
$ usermod -aG sudo username
Below, we have added the newly created user ‘sudo_admin’ into a sudo group.
$ usermod -aG sudo sudo_admin
Verify sudo access
Now, use the ‘su’ command to log in as a sudo user.
$ su - sudo_admin
Once you log in as a sudo user. Execute any command with sudo privileges. For example, here we have executed the ‘whoami’ command. If you have sudo privileges, it will return ‘root’ in the output:
$ sudo whoami
How to use the sudo command?
To use the sudo command, use the sudo and use space. After that, enter the desired command.
$ sudo visudo
You need to enter the password for the first time to start a sudo session.
Conclusion
We demonstrated in this article how to create a sudo user in Debian 11. Moreover, we explained how to add a user to a sudo group.