Managing user permissions through the sudoers file is a powerful way to control who can execute commands as the superuser. In Debian 12, adding users to the sudoers file is a crucial task for system administrators who want to grant certain users the ability to perform tasks with superuser privileges.
By considering its importance, this article will guide you through the various methods available for adding users to the sudoers file, ensuring that you can manage your system’s security and user permissions effectively.
Table of Content
How To Add Users in Sudoers File in Debian 12
Method 1: Using the usermod Command
Method 2: Using the visudo Command
Method 3: Using the useradd Command
Method 4: Directly Editing the sudoers File
How To Add Users in Sudoers File in Debian 12
On Debian 12, adding users to the sudoers file allows them to run commands with root privileges. Debian 12 offers multiple methods to accomplish this task whether you prefer the command line or the graphical interface:
Method 1: Using the usermod Command
The usermod command is a straightforward way to add the user to the sudo existing group, which inherently grants them sudo permission. Here’s how you can do it:
Add the user to the sudo group
Use the below command to add the user to the sudo group. For instance, the username in our case is debian (existing user):
sudo usermod -aG sudo debian
Verification
You can use the groups command to verify whether the user has been added or not to the sudo group:
groups debian
Method 2: Using the visudo Command
This command is an easy and safe way to edit the sudoers file. It launches the sudoers file in the editor and checks for errors before saving.
Add Users in Sudoers File
To launch the sudoers file, enter the visudo command:
sudo visudo
Locate the root entry by scrolling down to find the line that starts with the root. This is the entry for the root user:
Below the root entry, add a new line with the following format:
<username> = <group> <command>
Here, <username> is the username that the user wants to add. <group> can be either ALL to allow all commands or a specific group name. <command> specifies the commands the user can execute with sudo. If you want to allow all commands, leave it blank.
Finally, save and exit the editor.
Method 3: Using the useradd Command
For the addition of users in the sudoers file on Debian 12, use the useradd command below:
Create a New User
If users need to add the user and grant sudo permission, use the useradd command to create the new user account:
sudo useradd John
Users need to replace <username> with the desired username as John:
Set the user’s password
After that, utilize the passwd command to set the password for the new user as John:
sudo passwd John
Grant sudo privileges
Use the visudo command as described in Method 2 to add the new user to the sudoers file.
Method 4: Directly Editing the sudoers File
For the addition of users in the sudoers file in Debian 12, use the sudoers file. It is one of the recommended methods to directly edit the sudoers file:
Open the sudoers file
Open a terminal and utilize the preferred text editor (such as nano) to open the sudoers file:
sudo nano /etc/sudoers
Now, add the below line to the file and replace <username>:
John ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL
After modification, save and exit the editor.
Method 5: Using the GUI
For those who prefer a graphical interface, Debian provides a GUI method to add users to the sudoers file:
Add Users in Settings
Open the system settings, and navigate to the “Users” section. If you hit the “Unlock” button authenticate if required. Finally, select “Add User” and fill in the new user credentials:
Toggle the button to “Administrator” to grant sudo privileges:
Verification
To confirm the successfully adding user in the Sudoers file in Debian 12, see the below interface:
That is all from the guide.
Conclusion
To add a user to the sudoers file in Debian 12, you can use the usermod command. For example, sudo usermod -aG sudo [username] will grant [username] sudo privileges. Alternatively, you can use the visudo command to edit the sudoers file directly and add [username] ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL to grant the necessary permissions. It’s important to replace [username] with the actual username of the user you wish to add. For a GUI approach, navigate to the Users settings in Debian and toggle the Administrator option for the new user.
