🔴 USERCTL · RED COMMAND CENTER change user
⚡ Switch identities · Rename users · Manage accounts — all essential Linux user operations, pure red intensity.
#1
🔄 Temporary Switch User
su - johnsudo su - john
Switch to user "john" — start a new login shell.
↩️ Return to previous user:
exit
💡 Use
whoami to verify. Switch temporarily without logging out.
#2
✏️ Rename Username
🔻 Old: olduser → 🔺 New: newuser
sudo usermod -l newuser olduser📁 Rename home directory path:
sudo usermod -d /home/newuser -m newuser👥 (Optional) Rename primary group:
sudo groupmod -n newuser olduser
⚠️ Important: Do not rename a user that is currently logged in or has active processes.
#3
🪪 Change Full Name (GECOS)
sudo chfn -f "John Doe" john
✨ Updates the "real name" / display name associated with the user account.
Check with:
finger john or getent passwd john
🔥 Interactive mode: simply
chfn john to edit all fields.
#4
📋 List All System Users
cut -d: -f1 /etc/passwd
📌 Shows every username on the system (including system accounts). For better readability:
cut -d: -f1 /etc/passwd | sort
getent passwd | cut -d: -f1 # alternative
#5
➕ Create a New User
sudo adduser newuser
🛡️ To grant sudo privileges (admin rights):
sudo usermod -aG sudo newuser
🧠 On some distros use
wheel instead of sudo group.
The adduser command interactively prompts for password & full name.
sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash username # low-level
#6
🗑️ Delete User Account
sudo deluser username
🔥 Delete user together with home directory & mail spool:
sudo deluser --remove-home username
🧨 Extra caution:
--remove-all-files removes everything owned by the user.
📌 For CentOS/RHEL use
userdel -r username
📌
⚙️ Change User — 360° Context
🔐 "change user" can mean:
- ✅ Switch session (temporary impersonation) →
su / sudo - ✅ Rename account (modify username) →
usermod -l - ✅ Update full name / metadata →
chfn - ✅ Create / delete users → system administration
# Find all "change user" related commandsman usermod | grep -i rename
🔍
👥 Who is online?
who / wusers
🚦 Before renaming or removing a user, check active sessions:
pkill -KILL -u olduser (force logout if required)
💡 Pro tip:
loginctl list-users on systemd-based systems.
📘 RED CHEATSHEET — user management quick reference
👉 Switch user
su - usersudo -i
🏷️ Rename home dir
usermod -d /newhome -m user
👤 Change UID
usermod -u 2001 user
🔒 Lock/Unlock
passwd -l user
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