Not able to use sudo from command line?

david0321 · 07-07-2012, 07:23 AM

I have a new install of debian command line only. No GUI. I'm trying to open pico or vi with the sudo command to edit a file. I'm not able to use the sudo command. Not sure why?

Also am not able to log in as root. I'm guessing that root login has been disabled.

Thanks

Randicus Draco Albus · 07-07-2012, 08:06 AM

Quote:

I'm not able to use the sudo command.

su is not enabled as default. Users must be added to the su group.

Code:

adduser <name> sudo

Quote:

Also am not able to log in as root.

Is it possible there is a difference between the password in your head (what it should be) and what you entered when installing? In other words, could you have made a mistake when entering the original password?

david0321 · 07-07-2012, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randicus Draco Albus

su is not enabled as default. Users must be added to the su group.

Code:

adduser <name> sudo

Is it possible there is a difference between the password in your head (what it should be) and what you entered when installing? In other words, could you have made a mistake when entering the original password?

Yes possible. Begining to wonder myself if I have the correct password.

Also there should be a sudoers file /etc/sudoers. This is where the user name is added. My install does not have this file. Not sure if I should create the file or what.

I tried adduser <name> sudo that did not work. adduser command not found.

Thanks

david0321 · 07-07-2012, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by david0321

Yes possible. Begining to wonder myself if I have the correct password.

Also there should be a sudoers file /etc/sudoers. This is where the user name is added. My install does not have this file. Not sure if I should create the file or what.

I tried adduser <name> sudo that did not work. adduser command not found.

Thanks

sudo did not install as default. Had to login as root use apt-get to install it. Then used the command adduser <name> sudo and that worked ok. By the way I was using the wrong password for root. Figured it out. Me bad.

jheaton5 · 07-07-2012, 09:47 AM

sudo is not the standard way to use root permissions in Debian and so it is not set up automatically on a fresh install. In Debian the standard way to use root permissions is 'su'. su is set up automatically on a fresh install.

Randicus, your instructions are confusing since you typed su instead of sudo.

craigevil · 07-07-2012, 11:08 AM

use su not sudo

$ su
Password:
root@debian:/home/craig#

then you can use nano or whichever text editor you prefer.

As for logging into the GUI as root search the forum.

If you prefer sudo see:
sudo - Debian Wiki : http://wiki.debian.org/sudo

Randicus, you are confusing sudo and su, there is no su group.

$ groups
craig lp cdrom floppy sudo audio dip video plugdev users netdev lpadmin powerdev scanner debian-tor

to open a GUI app as root you can use either gksu or kdesu.

david0321 · 07-07-2012, 06:51 PM

Thanks for the help all. I use OS X which makes use of sudo. So it is comfortable for me.

cynwulf · 07-08-2012, 12:19 PM

You want to use sudo, then you need to read the manual

Code:

$ man sudo

Also:

https://wiki.debian.org/sudo
http://www.debianhelp.co.uk/sudo.htm
http://www.debianadmin.com/providing...sing-sudo.html

You could also have set up to use sudo at install time.