Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 36 views

    Creating Groups in GNU-Linux

    Uploaded by

    pablojrc
    The groupadd command is used to create new groups in Linux. It adds an entry for the new group to the /etc/group and /etc/gshadow files. The general syntax is "groupadd [OPTIONS] GROUPNAME". Options allow creating a group with a specific GID, as a system group, or overriding default values in /etc/login.defs. While groups define privileges for resources shared among users, adding a password to a group has no practical use and may cause security issues.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Creating Groups in GNU-Linux

    Uploaded by

    pablojrc
    36 views3 pages
    The groupadd command is used to create new groups in Linux. It adds an entry for the new group to the /etc/group and /etc/gshadow files. The general syntax is "groupadd [OPTIONS] GROUPNAME". Options allow creating a group with a specific GID, as a system group, or overriding default values in /etc/login.defs. While groups define privileges for resources shared among users, adding a password to a group has no practical use and may cause security issues.

    Original Title

    Creating groups in GNU-Linux

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The groupadd command is used to create new groups in Linux. It adds an entry for the new group to the /etc/group and /etc/gshadow files. The general syntax is "groupadd [OPTIONS] GROUPNAME". Options allow creating a group with a specific GID, as a system group, or overriding default values in /etc/login.defs. While groups define privileges for resources shared among users, adding a password to a group has no practical use and may cause security issues.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    36 views3 pages

    Creating Groups in GNU-Linux

    Uploaded by

    pablojrc
    The groupadd command is used to create new groups in Linux. It adds an entry for the new group to the /etc/group and /etc/gshadow files. The general syntax is "groupadd [OPTIONS] GROUPNAME". Options allow creating a group with a specific GID, as a system group, or overriding default values in /etc/login.defs. While groups define privileges for resources shared among users, adding a password to a group has no practical use and may cause security issues.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    GROUP CREATION IN GNU/LINUX

    In Linux, groups are used to organize and administer user accounts. The primary purpose of
    groups is to define a set of privileges such as reading, writing, or executing permission for a
    given resource that can be shared among the users within the group.

    In this article, we will talk about how to create new groups in Linux, using the groupadd
    command.

    groupadd Command Syntax

    The general syntax for the groupadd command is as follows:

    groupadd [OPTIONS] GROUPNAME


    Copy

    Only the root or a user with sudo privileges can create new groups.

    When invoked, groupadd creates a new group using the options specified on the command line
    plus the default values specified in the /etc/login.defs file.

    Creating a Group in Linux

    To create a new group type groupadd followed by the new group name.

    For example, to create a new group named mygroup you would run:

    groupadd mygroup

    The command adds an entry for the new group to the /etc/group and /etc/gshadow files.

    Once the group is created, you can start adding users to the group.

    If the group with the same name already exist, the system will print an error message like the
    following:

    groupadd: group 'mygroup' already exists

    To suppress the error message if the group exist and to make the command exit successfully, use
    the -f (--force) option:

    groupadd -f mygroup
    Creating a Group with Specific GID

    In Linux and Unix-like operating systems, groups are identified by its name and a unique GID (a
    positive integer).

    By default, when a new group is created, the system assigns the next available GID from the
    range of group IDs specified in the login.defs file.

    Use the -g (--gid) option to create a group with a specific GID.

    For example to create a group named mygroup with GID of 1010 you would type:

    groupadd -g 1010 mygroup

    You can verify the group’s GID, by listing all groups and filtering the result with grep:

    getent group | grep mygroup


    mygroup:x:1010:

    If a group with the given GID already exist, you will get the following error:

    groupadd: GID '1010' already exists

    When used with the -o (--non-unique) option the groupadd command allows you to create a
    group with non-unique GID:

    groupadd -o -g 1010 mygroup

    Creating a System Group

    There is no real technical difference between the system and regular (normal) groups. Usually,
    system groups are used for some special system operation purposes, like creating backups or
    doing system maintenance.

    System groups GIDs are chosen from the range of system group UDs specified in the
    login.defs file, which is different than the range used for regular groups.

    Use the -r (--system) option to create a system group. For example, to create a new system
    group named mysystemgroup you would run:

    groupadd -r mysystemgroup

    Overriding the Default /etc/login.defs Values

    The -K (--key) option followed by KEY=VAL allows you to override the default values specified
    in the /etc/login.defs file.
    Basically, all you can override are the maximum and minimum values of the normal and system
    group IDs for automatic GID selection when creating a new group.

    Let’s say you want to create a new group with GID in the range between 1200 and 1500. To do
    that, specify the min/max values as shown below:

    groupadd -K GID_MIN=1200 -K GID_MAX=1500 mygroup

    Creating a System Group with Password

    Adding a password to a group has no practical use and may cause a security problem since more
    than one user will need to know the password.

    The -p (--password) option followed by password allows you to set a password for the new
    group:

    groupadd -p grouppassword mygroup

    Conclusion

    In Linux, you can create new groups using the groupadd command.

    The same instructions apply for any Linux distribution, including Ubuntu, CentOS, RHEL,
    Debian, Fedora, and Arch Linux.

    You might also like