Create default home directory for existing user in terminal
How do I do this? I created a user without a home directory and now I want to create one. Not just a folder called new_user, I want the default home directory with all it's folders and hidden files, etc.
@Alaa `su new_user` :D
@RaduRădeanu yeah I already tried that, also tried `sudo -i -u new_user` but it doesn't work. I think we need to "simulate an X login"...don't know how to do that.
logging in doesn't create the subdirectories in home.
Use the following (as root, or with sudo if not root):
mkhomedir_helper usernameFor this to work, folder
/home/usernamemust not exist.For X-related folders (Desktop, Downloads, etc), you will need to login in a graphics environment; they will be automatically generated the first time you login.
Simple and useful. This way you also can be sure that the newly created home dir is compliant with your system policies, without ever knowing them or any manual tinkering.
This is the correct answer, at least it worked for me on Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS.
I had to have my username in /etc/passwd first before this worked for me.
Simple.. just works (tm). Should be the accepted answer
Don't forget to check the directory's permissions with `ls -l /home`. I found that the new directory was readable by all other users, so I removed those permissions with `chmod go-r-x /home/username`.
This doesn't create the files insde home, like `.bashrc`. Didn't work for me.
The subdirectories (Documents, Downloads, etc...) are automatically created when the user first logs in through GNOME, provided that the home directory is created with the correct permissions. Here's a demonstration:
[email protected]:~$ sudo useradd testinguser [email protected]:~$ sudo passwd testinguser Enter new UNIX password: Retype new UNIX password: passwd: password updated successfully [email protected]:~$ sudo ls -l /home total 20 drwxr-xr-x 55 alaa alaa 4096 Aug 22 22:00 alaa drwx------ 2 root root 16384 Jun 5 09:46 lost+found [email protected]:~$ sudo mkdir /home/testinguser [email protected]:~$ sudo chown testinguser:testinguser /home/testinguser [email protected]:~$ ls -l /home total 24 drwxr-xr-x 55 alaa alaa 4096 Aug 22 22:00 alaa drwx------ 2 root root 16384 Jun 5 09:46 lost+found drwxr-xr-x 2 testinguser testinguser 4096 Aug 23 10:03 testinguser [email protected]:~$ ls -l /home/testinguser/ total 0 [email protected]:~$
You can check that the user's home directory is correctly set by checking the entry in
/etc/passwd. You should, by default, see the home directory set to/home/testinguser:[email protected]:~$ grep testinguser /etc/passwd testinguser:x:1001:1001::/home/testinguser:/bin/sh
If you don't see the home directory
/home/testinguserthere, you'll need to execute the commandsudo usermod -d /home/testinguser testinguserto update it, although you should not need to use this command because it should be set by default (according touseradd's manpages).I then logged out of my account, and logged back in with
testinguser, and here are the subdirectories automatically created:
[email protected]:~$ ls -l /home/testinguser/ total 36 drwxr-xr-x 2 testinguser testinguser 4096 Aug 23 10:05 Desktop drwxr-xr-x 2 testinguser testinguser 4096 Aug 23 10:05 Documents drwxr-xr-x 2 testinguser testinguser 4096 Aug 23 10:05 Downloads drwxr-xr-x 2 testinguser testinguser 4096 Aug 23 10:05 Music drwxr-xr-x 2 testinguser testinguser 4096 Aug 23 10:07 Pictures drwxr-xr-x 2 testinguser testinguser 4096 Aug 23 10:05 Public drwxr-xr-x 2 testinguser testinguser 4096 Aug 23 10:05 Templates drwxr-xr-x 2 testinguser testinguser 4096 Aug 23 10:05 Videos
I didn't need to copy the contents of
/etc/skel.If possible, can you please try following these steps, creating another new user? Once you're done, you can remove this new user by
sudo deluser testinguser && sudo rm -r /home/testinguser.If all of this did not work with you, then I'm guessing it's a bug.
In some situation when you use `useradd`, the default home directory for the new user is not automatic set to `/home/username`. So, first ypu must to be sure about that.
Can you give me an example of these situations =)? From the man pages of `useradd`: "useradd will use the base directory specified by the HOME variable in `/etc/default/useradd`, or `/home` by default". The HOME variable in `/etc/default/useradd` is not defined by default, so useradd will always use `/home`. Anyways, I'll edit my answer and move the part to check `/etc/passwd` up.
An example here. Another example: You delete an user, but you didn't delete his directories and files; and then you add again a user with the same name. And there are many, and there are no bugs :)
If you don't have `/bin/sh` in the user line `/etc/passwd` you have to add a shell for that user, for example the default shell with `usermod -s /bin/sh testuser`
Not all systems have GNOME and suggesting someone to remove and re-add a user simply to create a home directory is bad advice.
UPDATE: The solution is broken and not working for me too.
If you want to create the user's home directory if it does not exist, then run the
useraddcommand with the-mflag. This will copy all files from the/etc/skeldirectory.useradd -m usernameYou might need to configure settings for your system. According to the man page :
-m, --create-home Create the user's home directory if it does not exist. The files and directories contained in the skeleton directory (which can be defined with the -k option) will be copied to the home directory. By default, if this option is not specified and CREATE_HOME is not enabled, no home directories are created.and further indicates :
CONFIGURATION The following configuration variables in /etc/login.defs change the behavior of this tool: CREATE_HOME (boolean) Indicate if a home directory should be created by default for new users.this seems to try to create a new user, because it tells me "user 'new-user' already exists".
I've also tested the `-m` flag when creating a new user anyways, and it didn't work; it only copies the skeleton files.
@Jo: And how is this incorrect, because according the initial post, the user does already exist.
This answer does not solve the issue. Copying `/etc/skel` does not create the subdirectories in the home directory. Also, `useradd -m` is used when creating a new user, not when the user is already added.
I updated the post, so set CREATE_HOME to yes in the login.defs config file.
If you created the new user with
addusercommand, you don't need to create a home directory for the new user. A home directory named with the name of the user in/homedirectory, with the following subdirectories: Desktop, Downloads, Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos (and others), for the new user will be created automatic.If you created the new user with
useraddcommand, then run the following commands in terminal:sudo -i #enter your user password when you are asked gedit /etc/passwdto edit
/etc/passwdfile as root (this is the most important step). Find the line with the name of the new user and set the default home directory for him something like this:new_username:x:1001:1001::/home/new_username:/bin/shAt this line you can also to add a real name for the new user, or set the default shell. Something like this:
new_username:x:1001:1001:Real New Username,,,:/home/new_username:/bin/bashBe careful, don't make any other changes.
After you save the file, before to go out from the root account, run the following commands:
mkdir /home/new_username #to create the directory /home/new_username cp -r /etc/skel/. /home/new_username #to copy skeleton files to /home/new_username chown -R new_username:new_username /home/new_username #to change the owner of /home/new_username to the new userAfter all of these the home folder for the new user will automatically be populated after first login.
See also: How to make user home folder after account creation?
As far as I remember, the home folder is not automatically created, you have to manually create it and update the user's entry in `/etc/passwd` (if it's not already there). Once the user logs in, the home folder will automatically be populated with those subdirectories. However, all of this is taken care of is someone adds a user using `adduser`, instead of `useradd`.
@Alaa I just tested a few days ago and I used `adduser`: the home folder **is** automatically created. And indeed, the home folder will automatically be populated after first login.
this seems to do nothing.maybe I'll try the bash script from the other question, but couldn't I just create a folder in /home/ called new_user, and then copy the contents of /etc/skel to it? is that what that bash-script does?
@JoRijo I edited my answer.
@RaduRădeanu don't you mean `cp /etc/skel/* /home/new_username`? Also, is there a reason why you use two consecutive `chown` commands?
@Alaa Well, thanks for observation. Also you can edit yourself an answer when you see some mistakes like these.
All you need realy is the home folder to make it work. As root,
cd /home cd mkdir username chown username username chgrp username usernameLogging in with the first time should create all necessary files, that seems to be those:
drwxr-xr-x 16 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:46 . drwxr-xr-x 9 root root 4096 Jun 4 17:43 .. drwx------ 11 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:46 .cache drwx------ 13 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:46 .config drwxr-xr-x 2 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:45 Desktop drwxr-xr-x 2 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:45 Documents drwxr-xr-x 2 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:45 Downloads drwx------ 3 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:46 .gconf drwxrwxr-x 2 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:46 .gstreamer-0.10 -rw------- 1 fotanus fotanus 334 Jun 4 17:45 .ICEauthority drwxr-xr-x 3 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:45 .local drwx------ 4 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:45 .mozilla drwxr-xr-x 2 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:45 Music drwxr-xr-x 2 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:45 Pictures drwxr-xr-x 2 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:45 Public drwxr-xr-x 2 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:45 Templates drwxr-xr-x 2 fotanus fotanus 4096 Jun 4 17:45 Videos -rw------- 1 fotanus fotanus 55 Jun 4 17:45 .Xauthority -rw------- 1 fotanus fotanus 711 Jun 4 17:45 .xsession-errors
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Content dated before 6/26/2020 9:53 AM
Alaa Ali 7 years ago
When the user logs in, those subdirectories (Documents, Downloads, etc...) will be automatically created. Although I'm searching for ways to "simulate" his login through the terminal.