How to create a user in Linux

New local accounts are needed when a person, service owner, or automation handoff needs a separate Linux identity instead of sharing an existing login. Creating the account through the system user database keeps file ownership, shell startup files, and password policy tied to one named user.

The useradd command writes the local account records, creates the requested home directory, and assigns the chosen shell when those choices are supplied on the command line. New home directories are seeded from the system skeleton directory, so shell startup files are present before first login.

A regular local login needs an identity entry, a password, and a home directory check before handoff. Directory-backed accounts from LDAP or Active Directory and service accounts with no interactive shell usually belong in their identity provider or system-account provisioning procedure instead.

1. Confirm that the login name is unused.

   $ id audituser
   id: 'audituser': no such user

   Replace audituser with the login name that should be created.

2. Create the local user, home directory, matching primary group, and login shell.

   $ sudo useradd --create-home --user-group --comment "Audit User" --shell /bin/bash audituser

   --create-home copies skeleton files from /etc/skel, and --comment fills the account description field shown by getent passwd.

3. Set the user's password interactively.

   $ sudo passwd audituser
   New password:
   Retype new password:
   passwd: password updated successfully

   Password input is hidden at the prompt. Use a temporary password only when the user can change it at first login or through a controlled handoff.

4. Verify the new account identifiers.

   $ id audituser
   uid=1001(audituser) gid=1001(audituser) groups=1001(audituser)

5. Check the account database entry.

   $ getent passwd audituser
   audituser:x:1001:1001:Audit User:/home/audituser:/bin/bash

   The fields after the username show the UID, primary GID, comment, home directory, and login shell.

6. Confirm that the home directory was created from the skeleton files.

   $ sudo ls -la /home/audituser
   total 20
   drwxr-x--- 2 audituser audituser 4096 Jun 13 21:23 .
   drwxr-xr-x 1 root      root      4096 Jun 13 21:23 ..
   -rw-r--r-- 1 audituser audituser  220 Feb 13 12:16 .bash_logout
   -rw-r--r-- 1 audituser audituser 3771 Feb 13 12:16 .bashrc
   -rw-r--r-- 1 audituser audituser  807 Feb 13 12:16 .profile

7. Check that the account has a usable password hash.

   $ sudo passwd --status audituser
   audituser P 2026-06-13 0 99999 7 -1

   The P status means a usable password hash is set. L means locked, and NP means no password hash is present.