To create a regular local account on Ubuntu, use Settings → System → Users on Ubuntu Desktop, or run sudo adduser username in a terminal. Choose administrator access only if the person needs to manage the system; a standard account is safer for everyday use.
Before you begin
You need administrator privileges to add a local account. On Desktop, that means being able to unlock the Users panel with an administrator password. On Server, use an account authorized to run sudo. The account created by the Ubuntu installer is normally in the sudo group. See Ubuntu’s user-management guide.
This guide covers local Ubuntu accounts for people. It does not create an LDAP, Active Directory, Samba, or other centrally managed identity; those are administered through their identity service. A human login is also different from a system account used by a service.
The Desktop directions follow Ubuntu’s current GNOME documentation, which lists Settings → System → Users. Labels and placement can vary by release or desktop environment. Ubuntu’s official documentation lists 26.04 LTS, 24.04 LTS, and 22.04 LTS; check the instructions for your installed release if the panel differs. Desktop account instructions · Ubuntu documentation
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Create a user in Ubuntu Desktop
- Open Activities, search for Settings, and open it.
- Select System, then Users.
- Click Unlock near the upper-right corner and authenticate with an administrator password.
- Under Other Users, click Add User….
- Choose Standard for ordinary use. Choose Administrator only if the person needs to install software, change system settings, manage users, or run administrative commands.
- Enter the person’s full name and review the suggested username. Set a password, or choose the option that lets the person set one on first login if offered.
- Click Add. Ubuntu creates a separate home folder for the account’s files and settings.
- Log out or switch users, select the new account at the login screen, and sign in to test it.
If Add User… is unavailable, the panel may still be locked or your current account may lack administrator privileges. The Users panel may not exist on a Server installation without a desktop environment.
Create a user from the terminal
Ubuntu recommends adduser for ordinary account management. It is a policy-oriented tool that handles the typical interactive setup, including a home directory and password prompts. Run:
sudo adduser alice- Enter the current administrator’s password when
sudoprompts for it. The characters will not appear as you type. - Enter and confirm a password for
alice. - Optionally enter a full name and other account details, then confirm the information when prompted.
Replace alice with the desired login name. For a regular user, adduser normally chooses an available UID, creates a matching primary group, creates the home directory, and copies initial configuration files from /etc/skel. The exact UID is not guaranteed; 1000 is a common convention for regular users, not an invariant. See the adduser manual.
For automation, avoid placing a password in a command-line argument. One approach is to create the account without setting its password, then set it interactively:
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sudo passwd aliceConfigure an approved authentication method before expecting the account to log in. Do not use useradd -p 'password' alice: useradd -p expects an encrypted password, and password material entered on a command line may be exposed to process-listing tools. useradd manual
Choose standard or administrator access
A standard user has a normal login and home directory but does not automatically have broad system-administration rights. An administrator is still a normal user account; the difference is authorization to run privileged operations with sudo.
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If Alice needs that access, add her to Ubuntu’s administrative group:
sudo adduser alice sudoOr use usermod with the append option:
sudo usermod -aG sudo aliceThe -a matters: without it, usermod -G can replace existing supplementary-group memberships instead of adding to them. Membership in sudo commonly grants broad administrative access under Ubuntu’s standard configuration, so do not grant it merely to fix access to one file or project. Use a narrowly scoped group for shared resources where appropriate.
Check group membership with id alice or groups alice. The user should start a new login session for updated group membership to take effect. From Alice’s account, test with sudo -v, then sudo whoami; the latter should print root if the command is authorized.
Verify the account and its home directory
Run these checks as an administrator, replacing alice as needed:
id alice
getent passwd alice
ls -ld /home/aliceiddisplays the account’s UID and group memberships.getent passwddisplays the account database entry, including its home directory and login shell. Because it consults the system’s configured NSS sources, its results can include remote identities as well as local users.ls -ldchecks whether the expected home directory exists. Its owner should be the new user.
To test a local interactive login without first logging out, run:
su - alice
whoami
pwdAfter switching, whoami should report alice and pwd should normally show /home/alice. Type exit to return to the previous shell. For additional password-state information, sudo passwd -S alice is available on systems whose installed passwd supports that output format.
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Sign in on Desktop or Server
Ubuntu Desktop
Log out and choose the new account at the login screen, or use the desktop’s user menu to switch users if that feature is enabled. A first login may take longer while the home directory and desktop configuration are initialized.
Ubuntu Server or SSH
From a local console, switch accounts with su - alice. An SSH login can be attempted with:
ssh alice@server-addressCreating a local account does not itself enable SSH access. SSH password-authentication settings, public-key setup, firewall rules, cloud-provider policies, and the server’s sshd_config can independently allow or block remote login.
Create a service account instead
Do not use a system account for a person who needs an interactive login. Service accounts typically have different UID conventions, may not have a home directory, and commonly use /usr/sbin/nologin as their shell. For a service named myservice, an example is:
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Change, lock, or remove an account
Change the password
sudo passwd aliceThis prompts for a new password. Password-policy behavior can differ when an administrator creates or changes an account with sudo; do not assume every configured strength or minimum-length rule is enforced identically in that situation. Ubuntu Server user-management guidance
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Lock password authentication
sudo passwd -l aliceThis locks the account’s password. It does not necessarily make the account unusable through every authentication route: SSH keys, PAM modules, and other configured mechanisms can affect access. Check the authentication method in use before treating password locking as a complete access revocation.
Remove an account cautiously
Before deleting an account, review files it owns and preserve any data you need. To locate owned files, run:
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sudo find / -user alice -ls 2>/dev/nullReview the results before proceeding, especially for an employee, service account, or account that may own files outside its home directory. To remove the account while retaining its home directory:
sudo deluser aliceTo remove the account and its home directory:
sudo deluser --remove-home aliceIf you only need to stop a person’s access temporarily, locking the account may be safer than deleting it immediately.
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Authentication failure or permission denied
Confirm that you are using an administrator account, entered the correct password, and included sudo where required. Check whether sudo works with:
sudo -vIf it fails, use another administrator account or console access. Avoid casual edits to /etc/sudoers; a syntax error there can disrupt administrative access.
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The username already exists
Check before creating another account:
getent passwd aliceIf the account exists, change its password with sudo passwd alice or, when justified, add it to the sudo group. Do not delete and recreate an account just to change its display name; that can complicate file ownership and risk data loss. Usernames are validated against Ubuntu’s configured naming policy. Prefer simple names without spaces or shell metacharacters; avoid --allow-bad-names unless a nonstandard name is genuinely required.
The account has no home directory
This can happen if the lower-level useradd command was used without an option or configuration that creates a home, or if home creation was explicitly disabled. Check the home path with getent passwd alice. For an ordinary person’s account, adduser is the more predictable choice; see the useradd manual.
The user can log in but cannot use sudo
Check groups alice. If administrator access is intended, add the account with sudo adduser alice sudo, then have the user start a new login session before testing again.
The user cannot log in
Check the account entry and password status with getent passwd alice and sudo passwd -S alice. Then check that the account has a valid shell, that its home directory exists and is owned correctly, and that its password is not locked. Also identify whether the failing method is graphical, console, SSH, or domain-based: each may have separate authentication configuration.
How files and permissions work
Files a user creates are normally owned by that user and the user’s primary group. Separate accounts keep files, settings, and access rights distinct; other users cannot read private files unless permissions or group membership allow it. If several people need access to a project directory, a dedicated group with suitable directory permissions is generally preferable to repeatedly changing ownership or using chmod 777.
Additional groups can grant substantial access. Add a user to groups such as docker, libvirt, or hardware-access groups only when the person needs the corresponding capability. A separate account per person also gives each person their own password and a clearer account identity than sharing one login.
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