How to Add a User to the Sudoers on Linux?

As a Linux system administrator, you may often need to grant users administrative privileges to perform certain tasks. The sudo command is a powerful tool that allows authorized users to execute commands with elevated privileges. In this post, we’ll discuss two methods for adding a user to the sudoers file on Linux: adding the user to the sudo group or adding the user to the sudoers file directly.

Method 1) Adding a User to the sudo Group on Ubuntu

The sudo group is a predefined group that allows users to execute commands with elevated privileges. By adding a user to the sudo group, you can grant them administrative privileges without modifying the sudoers file directly. Here’s how to add a user to the sudo group:

1. Log in as the root user or a user with sudo privileges.
2. Run the following command to add the user to the sudo group:

sudo usermod -aG sudo username

In this command, replace “username” with the name of the user you want to add to the sudo group.

Now you can either logout and login again or switch to the user within the same session with:

su username -

When login as the username, there should also a message appear that looks like this:

To run a command as administrator (user “root”), use “sudo command”.

You succesfully added your desired user to the sudo group and you can now perform root like priviledges by running:

“sudo command”.

Method 2) Adding User to the sudoers File

The sudoers file is a configuration file that defines which users and groups have administrative privileges on the system. By adding a user to the sudoers file, you can grant them specific privileges or restrict their access to certain commands. Here’s how to add a user to the sudoers file:

1. Log in as the root user or a user with sudo privileges.
2. Open the sudoers file in your preferred text editor. On most systems, you can use the following command to open the sudoers file in the nano editor:

sudo visudo

3. Scroll down to the “# User privilege specification” section of the file.
4. Add the following line to the file, replacing “username” with the name of the user you want to add:

username ALL=(ALL) ALL

This line grants the user “username” full sudo privileges.

5. Save the file and exit the text editor.

Note: Be careful when editing the sudoers file, as any mistakes can render the system unusable.

Conclusion

Adding a user to the sudoers file allows them to execute commands with elevated privileges, giving them greater control over the system. In this post, we’ve discussed two methods for adding a user to the sudoers file on Linux: adding the user to the sudo group and adding the user to the sudoers file directly. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, and the choice ultimately depends on your specific use case. By following these steps, you can effectively manage user privileges on your Linux system.