adduser command in Linux (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 18 May, 2026

adduser is a Linux command used to create new user accounts on the system in an interactive and user-friendly way. It automatically handles home directory creation, default settings, and basic user configuration.

• Creates a new user along with a home directory and default files
• Prompts interactively for password and user details
• Automatically assigns a primary group to the user
• Simplifies user management compared to the low-level useradd command

Installing adduser command

To install adduser tool use the following commands as per your Linux distribution.

1. In case of Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install adduser

2. In case of CentOS/RedHat

sudo yum install adduser

3. In case of Fedora OS

sudo dnf install adduser

Working with adduser command

1. To add a new user

**Command:

adduser username

This command will add a new user to your Linux system. It will ask for some details and after entering those details a new user account would be created.

**Output:

**2. To add a user with a different shell.

**Command:

sudo adduser username --shell /bin/sh

This command will change the default shell for the new user to /bin/sh.

**Output:

**3. To add a new user with a different configuration file.

**Command:

adduser username --conf custom_config.conf

This command will take the configurations from the custom_config file and will create the new as per custom_config filename configurations.

**Output:

**4. To add a user with different home directory.

**Command:

adduser username --home /home/manav/

**Output:

**5. To get the version of the adduser command.

**Command:

adduser --version

This command will print the version details of the adduser command.

**Output:

**6. To display the help section of the adduser command

**Command:

adduser -h

This command will display the help section of the adduser command.

**Output: