Create a user with administrative (sudo) privileges (Linux)

Tutorial
1

Sometimes you need to create a new user on your Linux system and grant them administrative (sudo) privileges. This guide walks you through the process safely.

Step 1: Create a New User

We are going to use a friendly tool called adduser to create new users.

sudo adduser username

Replace username with your desired username (e.g., netrunner).

You will be prompted to:

  • Enter a password for the new user

  • Optionally fill in details like Full Name, Room Number, etc. (can be skipped)

Tip: adduser is recommended over useradd because it automatically sets up the user’s home directory and permissions.

Step 2: Add the User to the sudo Group

Any user in the sudo group can run administrative commands.

sudo usermod -aG sudo username

  • -aG means “append the user to this group without removing them from other groups.”

  • You can also add the user to the group during creation:

sudo adduser username sudo

Step 3: Verify Sudo Access

Switch to the new user:

su - username

Then test sudo:

sudo whoami

You should see:

root

This confirms the user has sudo privileges.