Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Creating a New User Account
Unlike Windows and OS X, which are largely designed for use by a single individual, Linux is
at heart a social operating system designed to accommodate numerous users. By default,
Debian is conigured with two user accounts:
pi
, which is the normal user account, and
root
,
which is a superuser account with additional permissions.
Don't be tempted to log in as
root
all the time. Using a nonprivileged user account, you're
protected against accidentally wrecking your operating system and from the ravages of viruses
and other malware downloaded from the Internet.
TIP
While it's certainly possible for you to use the
pi
account, it's better if you create your own
dedicated user account. Further accounts can also be created, for any friends or family mem-
bers who might want to use the Pi.
Creating a new account on the Pi is straightforward, and the same on all distributions, except
for the username and password used to log on to the Pi initially. Just follow these steps:
1
Log in to the Pi using the existing user account (user name
pi
and password
rasp-
berry
if you're using the recommended Debian distribution).
2
Type the following as a single line:
sudo useradd -m -G adm,dialout,cdrom,audio,plugdev,users, Æ
lpadmin,sambashare,vchiq,powerdev
username
his creates a new, blank user account. Note that the command should be typed as a
single line, with no spaces after the commas.
3
To set a password on the new account, type
sudo passwd
username
followed by
the new password when prompted.
To explain what just happened: the command
sudo
tells the operating system that the command
you're typing should be run as if you were logged in as the
root
account. he
useradd
command
says you want to create a new user account. he
-m
section—known as a
lag
or an
option
—tells
the
useradd
program to create a home directory where the new user can store his or her iles.
he big list following the
-G
lag is the list of groups of which the user should be a member.
