Creating Users and Groups on Linux with a Bash Script

Overview

Managing users and groups in a Linux environment can be a daunting task, especially when handling multiple users. To simplify this process, you can automate user creation, group assignments, and password management using a Bash scri…


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Oyewumi David

Overview

Managing users and groups in a Linux environment can be a daunting task, especially when handling multiple users. To simplify this process, you can automate user creation, group assignments, and password management using a Bash script. This article will walk you through creating a script that reads a file containing usernames and group names, creates the necessary users and groups, sets up home directories, and generates secure passwords.
This bash script automates the process of creating multiple users and groups on a Linux system. It's designed to streamline the onboarding process for new employees or system users. The script reads user information from an employee file, creates users with their respective groups, sets random passwords, and logs all actions.

Features

  • Creates users and their personal groups
  • Adds users to additional specified groups
  • Generates random passwords for each user
  • Logs all actions for auditing purposes
  • Stores generated passwords securely
  • Handles existing users and groups
  • Provides detailed error checking and reporting

Prerequisites

  • Linux environment (tested on Ubuntu)
  • Root or sudo access
  • Bash shell

Installation

  1. Clone this repository https://github.com/Seundavid18/HNG11-Stage1-Task or download the create_users.sh script.
  2. Make the script executable: 
   chmod +x create_users.sh

Usage

  1. Create an input file (e.g., create_users.txt) with the following format: 
   username; group1,group2,group3

Each line represents a user. The username and groups are separated by a semicolon (;). Multiple groups are separated by commas (,).

  1. Run the script with root privileges: 
   sudo ./create_users.sh create_users.txt

Replace create_users.txt with the path to your employee file.

Employee File sample 

seun; dev,linuxgrp
david; devops
segun; dev.devops,linuxgrp
  • Each line represents a user
  • Username and groups are separated by a semicolon (;)
  • Multiple groups are separated by commas (,)
  • Whitespace around separators is ignored

Output

  • Users are created with their home directories
  • Each user is assigned to their specified groups
  • Random passwords are generated for each user
  • All actions are logged in /var/log/user_management.log
  • Passwords are stored in /var/secure/user_passwords.csv

Troubleshooting

  • Ensure you have root privileges when running the script
  • Check the log file at /var/log/user_management.log for detailed information about each action and any errors
  • Verify that the input file is formatted correctly
  • If groupadd and useradd commands are not found, ensure that you have the necessary packages installed. On Debian-based systems, install the passwd package: 
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install passwd
  • On Red Hat-based systems, install the shadow-utils package: 
sudo yum install shadow-utils
  • You can also check the paths to these commands: 
which groupadd
which useradd
  • If they are located in directories like /usr/sbin or /sbin, update the script to use the full paths.

Conclusion

By automating user and group management with a Bash script, you can efficiently handle multiple users, ensure security through proper permissions and password management, and maintain an audit log of all actions. This script provides a solid foundation for user management in a Linux environment.

HNG11 Interniship

Visit https://hng.tech/internship | https://hng.tech/hire for more information about HNG and it's internship opportunities.


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Oyewumi David


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