How to add a user to a group in Linux

Managing group memberships in Linux controls which files, directories, and services are accessible to each account. Adding a user to the appropriate group enables shared access to project data, application resources, and administrative capabilities while keeping unrelated areas restricted.

Local users and groups are represented by entries in /etc/passwd and /etc/group, with each user associated with a primary group via a numeric GID. Secondary group memberships are stored in the group database, and utilities such as usermod and getent provide a safer interface for inspecting and adjusting those relationships than editing the files directly.

Changing group membership requires administrative privileges because the assignments influence permissions across the filesystem. Adjusting the primary group can alter ownership of newly created files and may expose or restrict existing data when directories rely on group ownership, so updates should be performed carefully and verified, and interactive sessions may need to be restarted for new group assignments to take effect.

1. Open a terminal with an account that has sudo privileges.

   $ whoami
   root

2. Create a new group for shared access if it does not already exist.

   $ groupadd finance

3. List local user accounts using getent to confirm the correct user name.

   $ getent passwd
   root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
   daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
   bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
   ##### snipped #####
   backupuser:x:1004:1004:,,,:/home/backupuser:/bin/bash
   opsuser:x:1006:1006:,,,:/home/opsuser:/bin/bash
   appuser:x:1005:1005:,,,:/home/appuser:/bin/bash

4. List existing groups and confirm the target group name for membership changes.

   $ getent group 
   root:x:0:
   daemon:x:1:
   bin:x:2:
   ##### snipped #####
   sudo:x:27:ubuntu,opsuser
   users:x:100:backupuser,opsuser,appuser
   finance:x:1007:

5. Change the primary group of a user when the new group should own newly created files.

   $ usermod --gid finance appuser

   Choosing an incorrect primary group can change default ownership of new files and may reduce or expand access where directory permissions rely on group ownership.

6. Add a secondary group to an existing user so the account gains additional permissions without changing its primary group.

   $ usermod --append --groups sudo appuser

   The --append option preserves existing supplemental groups instead of replacing them.

7. Add an existing user to multiple secondary groups in a single command when several permission sets are required.

   $ usermod --append --groups sudo,users appuser

8. Verify the groups assigned to the user after applying the changes.

   $ groups appuser
   appuser : finance sudo users

   New group memberships may require logging out and back in, or restarting long-running services, before taking effect in existing sessions.