How to remove a user in Linux

Removing a user account in Linux is a common administrative task. It becomes necessary when a user no longer requires access to the system. This can occur when an employee leaves or when a user’s access privileges are no longer relevant. The removal process ensures the system remains secure by eliminating unnecessary user accounts.

User data is stored in files such as etc/passwd, etc/group, and etc/shadow. Removing a user requires deleting their entries from these files. While this can be done manually, using tools like userdel or deluser is more efficient and reduces the risk of errors. These tools handle the removal of user data from all relevant system files automatically.

When deleting a user, it’s important to consider whether to remove the user's home directory and any personal files. This can be handled with options within the removal tools. Backup important data before deleting the account, as the process can result in permanent data loss.

1. Open the terminal.

   Ensure you have root or sudo privileges before proceeding.

2. Retrieve the list of users on your system.

   $ 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
   sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
   sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
   games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
   man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
   lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
   mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
   news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
   uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
   proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
   www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
   backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin
   list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
   irc:x:39:39:ircd:/var/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin
   gnats:x:41:41:Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin
   nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
   systemd-timesync:x:100:101:systemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/usr/sbin/nologin
   systemd-network:x:101:103:systemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd:/usr/sbin/nologin
   systemd-resolve:x:102:104:systemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd:/usr/sbin/nologin
   messagebus:x:103:106::/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
   syslog:x:104:110::/home/syslog:/usr/sbin/nologin
   _apt:x:105:65534::/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
   tss:x:106:111:TPM software stack,,,:/var/lib/tpm:/bin/false
   uuidd:x:107:114::/run/uuidd:/usr/sbin/nologin
   tcpdump:x:108:115::/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
   avahi-autoipd:x:109:117:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/usr/sbin/nologin
   usbmux:x:110:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/usr/sbin/nologin
   rtkit:x:111:118:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/usr/sbin/nologin
   dnsmasq:x:112:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/usr/sbin/nologin
   avahi:x:113:120:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/run/avahi-daemon:/usr/sbin/nologin
   cups-pk-helper:x:114:121:user for cups-pk-helper service,,,:/home/cups-pk-helper:/usr/sbin/nologin
   speech-dispatcher:x:115:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/false
   kernoops:x:116:65534:Kernel Oops Tracking Daemon,,,:/:/usr/sbin/nologin
   saned:x:117:123::/var/lib/saned:/usr/sbin/nologin
   nm-openvpn:x:118:124:NetworkManager OpenVPN,,,:/var/lib/openvpn/chroot:/usr/sbin/nologin
   whoopsie:x:119:125::/nonexistent:/bin/false
   colord:x:120:126:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/usr/sbin/nologin
   sssd:x:121:127:SSSD system user,,,:/var/lib/sss:/usr/sbin/nologin
   geoclue:x:122:128::/var/lib/geoclue:/usr/sbin/nologin
   pulse:x:123:129:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/usr/sbin/nologin
   hplip:x:124:7:HPLIP system user,,,:/run/hplip:/bin/false
   gnome-initial-setup:x:125:65534::/run/gnome-initial-setup/:/bin/false
   gdm:x:126:131:Gnome Display Manager:/var/lib/gdm3:/bin/false
   user:x:1000:1000:user,,,:/home/user:/bin/bash
   systemd-coredump:x:999:999:systemd Core Dumper:/:/usr/sbin/nologin
   shakir:x:1001:1001:shakir,,,:/home/shakir:/bin/bash

   Check the output to identify the user you want to delete.

3. Force the user to log out from the system.

   $ sudo pkill -u shakir
   [sudo] password for user: 

   If the user is logged in, this will terminate their session.

   Related: How to force logout a user in Linux

4. Verify that the user is no longer logged in to the system.

   $ who
   user     :0           2021-01-23 10:28 (:0)

5. Back up the user's home directory or important files if necessary.

   $ sudo cp -a /home/shakir /backup-shakir 

6. Delete the user account.

   $ sudo deluser shakir
   Removing user `shakir' ...
   Warning: group `shakir' has no more members.
   Done.

   Use the --remove-home option to also delete the user’s home directory.

   $ sudo deluser --remove-home shakir

7. Verify that the user's account has been removed from the system.

   $ id shakir
   id: ‘shakir’: no such user
   $ grep shakir /etc/passwd
   $ grep shakir /etc/group
   $ ls -l /home
   total 8
   drwxr-xr-x  5 1001 1001 4096 Jan  23 10:46 shakir
   drwxr-xr-x 15 user user 4096 Okt  25 09:28 user

   Home directory should not exist if you previously used --remove-home option.