How to Create and Manage Users in Linux (User Accounts and Groups Explained)

User management is a key part of Linux system administration. Whether you’re running a server or just managing your personal machine, understanding how to create, modify, and delete user accounts and groups is essential for keeping your system secure and organized.

In this guide, we’ll cover how to do it using both the command line (Terminal) and graphical interface (GUI) — step by step.

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🧠 Why User and Group Management Matters

Linux is a multi-user operating system, meaning:

• Multiple people (or services) can use the system at the same time.
• Each user has their own home directory, permissions, and settings.
• Groups help organize users and set access rights for folders, applications, and system services.

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👤 Linux User Types

User Type	Description
Root	The superuser with full system access (like “Administrator” in Windows)
Regular	Standard users with limited permissions
System/User Services	Background services like www-data, mysql, etc.

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📋 Basic Concepts: Users and Groups

• Every user belongs to at least one group.
• You can assign users to multiple groups.
• Groups are used to control access to files, folders, and commands.

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💻 Method 1: Manage Users via Terminal

Let’s go through the most common user management tasks using the terminal.

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✅ 1. Add a New User

sudo adduser username

You’ll be prompted to set a password and add user details (you can press Enter to skip optional fields).

Example:

sudo adduser john

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✅ 2. Set or Change User Password

sudo passwd username

Example:

sudo passwd john

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✅ 3. Add User to a Group

sudo usermod -aG groupname username

Example:

sudo usermod -aG sudo john

This gives john access to run commands with sudo.

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✅ 4. Create a New Group

sudo groupadd groupname

Example:

sudo groupadd developers

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✅ 5. Change a User’s Default Group

sudo usermod -g newgroup username

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✅ 6. View a User’s Group Memberships

groups username

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✅ 7. Delete a User

sudo deluser username

To also delete their home directory:

sudo deluser --remove-home username

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✅ 8. Delete a Group

sudo groupdel groupname

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🗂️ Method 2: Manage Users and Groups Using GUI

If you’re using a Linux desktop, you can manage users without the terminal.

🔹 On Ubuntu or Linux Mint:

1. Open Settings > Users
2. Click Unlock (top right) and enter your password
3. Click “Add User”
4. Choose account type: Standard or Administrator
5. Set password and other details

You can also manage group memberships using tools like:

• Users and Groups (Linux Mint)
• GNOME Users Admin (gnome-system-tools, may need to install it)

sudo apt install gnome-system-tools

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📂 File Locations for Users & Groups

File	Purpose
/etc/passwd	Contains basic user account info
/etc/shadow	Contains encrypted user passwords
/etc/group	Lists groups and their members

You can view them using cat or less:

less /etc/passwd

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🔐 Example: Create a Developer Group and Add Users

sudo groupadd developers
sudo adduser alice
sudo usermod -aG developers alice

Now alice is part of the developers group.

To verify:

groups alice

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🧪 Practice Exercise for Beginners

1. Create a new user testuser

sudo adduser testuser

2. Add testuser to the sudo group

sudo usermod -aG sudo testuser

3. Remove the user and their home directory

sudo deluser --remove-home testuser

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🧾 Quick Command Reference

Task	Command Example
Add new user	sudo adduser username
Set/change password	sudo passwd username
Add user to group	sudo usermod -aG groupname username
Create group	sudo groupadd groupname
Delete user	sudo deluser username
Delete user + home dir	sudo deluser --remove-home username
Check group memberships	groups username
Delete group	sudo groupdel groupname

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✅ Conclusion

Managing users and groups in Linux is simple but powerful. With just a few commands, you can control who has access to what — a crucial part of maintaining system security and organization.

Start by creating a few test users and groups to practice. Over time, managing users will become second nature.