How to display user and group details in Linux?

Displaying User and Group Details in Linux

In the Linux operating system, every user and group has specific details associated with them, such as their username, user ID (UID), group name, and group ID (GID). These details are essential for managing user access, permissions, and system administration tasks. Here's how you can display user and group details in Linux:

Displaying User Details

To display the details of a specific user, you can use the id command in the Linux terminal. The id command will show the user's UID, primary group name, and GID, as well as any additional groups the user is a member of.

id <username>

For example, to display the details of the user "john", you would run:

id john

This would output something like:

uid=1000(john) gid=1000(john) groups=1000(john),4(adm),24(cdrom),27(sudo),30(dip),46(plugdev),113(lpadmin),128(sambashare)

This output shows that the user "john" has a UID of 1000, a primary group of "john" with a GID of 1000, and is also a member of several other groups.

You can also use the getent command to display more detailed user information, such as the user's full name, home directory, and shell:

getent passwd <username>

For example:

getent passwd john

This would output:

john:x:1000:1000:John Doe,,,:/home/john:/bin/bash

This output shows the user's username, password (which is usually just an "x" indicating that the password is stored in the /etc/shadow file), UID, GID, full name, home directory, and default shell.

Displaying Group Details

To display the details of a specific group, you can use the id command with the -g option to show the group's GID, or the getent command to display more detailed group information.

id -g <groupname>

For example, to display the GID of the "sudo" group, you would run:

id -g sudo

This would output:

27

To display more detailed group information, you can use the getent command:

getent group <groupname>

For example:

getent group sudo

This would output:

sudo:x:27:john,jane,bob

This output shows the group name, password (usually just an "x" indicating that the password is stored in the /etc/gshadow file), GID, and the list of users who are members of the "sudo" group.

By understanding how to display user and group details in Linux, you can effectively manage user access, permissions, and system administration tasks, ensuring the security and proper functioning of your Linux system.