User Management

TL;DR, adding users

  1. sudo adduser [username] with username in the form [last][first], and a temporary password, fill in Full Name field and Other field with team role
  2. sudo passwd -e [username]
  3. sudo usermod -aG docker [username] if they need docker access
  4. sudo usermod -aG sudo [username] if they need sudo access. Use this one sparingly!
  5. Send user their username/password
  6. To delete a user, use sudo deluser --remove-home [username]

Adding Users (full)

Instead of having one monolithic account, we’ve moved to accounts for individuals for security purposes. The spacesys account will still be available, but only locally.

To create a new user:

sudo adduser [username]

Following in the style of VPN credentials, usernames should be in the form of [lastname][firstname], i.e. smithjohn.

At creation, give the new user an easy to remember password. However, to work towards zero-trust, use the command sudo passwd -e [username] to force a password change on first login.

The user will be automatically added to a number of default groups, which can be viewed by running groups [username]. However, there are some ✨special✨ groups that can be added on an as-needed basis. They can be added using usermod -aG [groupname] [username].

Group Purpose
docker Gives access to docker commands and full access to /srv/dockerfiles
sudo The keys to the castle. The top dog. The highest level of privilege that one can have. Well, on this server at least. Use sparingly and only when specifically needed.
license (eventually) the group to do all the license server stuff

Directory accessible to only group

  1. Create directory mkdir [dir]. We typically save shared directories in /srv/.
  2. Change the directory’s group to [group]: chown :[group] [dir]