Msmith PS 0 99999 7 -1 (Password set, SHA512 crypt.) To check the status of a user account, use this format. Here are a handful of useful examples of what passwd can do for user management. It is one of the more versatile Linux commands available. Discovering the versatile passwd commandĪs stated previously, the passwd command does more than simply change passwords. Check out some passwd command magic in the next section. That's all there is to creating a new user account and assigning a password to it. Since you're the root user, you can bypass this error, but regular users can't: $ passwd mjonesīAD PASSWORD: The password fails the dictionary check - it is based on a dictionary word If you use generic passwords for new users that are easy to type, you'll receive a message that warns you that your password doesn't meet standard requirements. Passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully. The syntax is simple: $ useradd -c 'User's Full Name' account_name I create the account, set the password, set any other options, and then contact the user to inform them that their account is ready. You can optionally set the password and other parameters as well, but I don't because every account is different. I typically only use one option, which is -c (comment), to enter the user's full name. A quick man useradd gives you all of the options you could ever want.

The useradd command is your command-line friend for creating user accounts.

For example, you use the passwd command to set and change passwords, but it's also used to check the status of a user account, expire a password, set password minimum and maximum lifetimes, disable a user account, and enable a user account. Linux System Administration Skills Assessmentīelieve it or not, you only need a few commands to handle the bulk of your user management tasks.Download Now: Basic Linux Commands Cheat Sheet.

Advanced Linux Commands Cheat Sheet for Developers.

Accounts administrator account status