Linux - NewbieThis Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question?
If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
I want to add a user to a group but when I use [usermod -G] the user is added to the goup but deleted from the others.
For example:
say a user called Fred is in fred, groups home, office and mail. If I want to add Fred to a group called fax, I executed [usermod -G fax Fred]. Now Fred is only in groups fred and fax.
How can I add a group to a user, without losing the existing group memberships?
From the man pages and I made the part important in BOLD:
-g initial_group
The group name or number of the user's new initial
login group. The group name must exist. A group
number must refer to an already existing group.
The default group number is 1.
-G group,[...]
A list of supplementary groups which the user is
also a member of. Each group is separated from the
next by a comma, with no intervening whitespace.
The groups are subject to the same restrictions as
the group given with the -g option. If the user is
currently a member of a group which is not listed,
the user will be removed from the group
Basically you have to specify all the groups you want them associated with when you use usermod or it doesn't know to keep the existing groups for the user, this is how you would remove them from groups, etc.
I quite frankly find it easier to just edit the /etc/group file.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.