📚 Table of Contents
- The Real World Problem
- Today’s Mission
- Commands I Used
- RHCSA Objectives Covered
- What I Learned (or Screwed Up)
- Tomorrow’s Challenge Teaser
The Real World Problem
You just created a new user… but they can't log in. They’re already on Slack asking why “Linux hates them personally.” You check your work—and oops. You forgot to give them a shell or a home. Rookie move, but hey, we've all been there.
Today’s Mission
Create a user with a home directory
Set their password
Make sure they’re assigned a default shell
Confirm they can log in and run basic commands
Commands I Used
Then I double-checked:
RHCSA Objectives Covered
Create and manage local users and groups
Set passwords and default shell
Understand the /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow files
What I Learned (or Screwed Up)
Not using -m creates a user without a home—unless you're creating a ghost.
No shell = no login = frustrated coworkers.
/etc/passwd is like a user phonebook. If your name isn’t in there correctly, you’re not getting through the door.
Tomorrow’s Challenge Teaser
Tomorrow we tackle the dangerous art of giving users sudo powers… and how to not accidentally let an intern nuke your server.
Top comments (2)
Haha, not assigning a shell or home directory got me a few times too - funny how those slip-ups are the ones you never forget. Do you have a go-to shell customization for new users?
Haha yes, those little slip-ups really burn themselves into memory, don’t they? 😅 I’ve definitely had my fair share of “why isn't this user working?!” moments—only to realize I forgot the -s /bin/bash or missed the home directory entirely. Classic!
As for shell customizations, I like to keep it beginner-friendly at first—usually just tweaking the .bashrc to add a few helpful aliases like:
alias ll='ls -alF'
alias gs='git status'
alias ..='cd ..'
Do you have any favorite shell tweaks you swear by?