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Asked: 2024-09-27T01:57:30+05:30 In:

How can I retrieve a list of all user accounts on an Ubuntu system that are designated for human use?

I’ve been trying to get a clear picture of the user accounts on my Ubuntu system, especially the ones that are meant for human use. It’s kinda important for me to manage these accounts properly, but I’m feeling a bit lost with all the command-line stuff. I mean, I know there are a bunch of user accounts on any system, but how do I figure out which ones are actually for real people and which ones are just system accounts?

I searched around and found a few ways to list users, but most of the commands seem to throw back everything—like, do I really need to see the service accounts, daemons, or whatever else is in there? But here’s the thing: I want to focus on the human accounts, the ones that, like, actually log in and do stuff on the system.

Could someone walk me through the process or share the exact command that would help me filter this down? Is there some easy way to differentiate between system accounts and user accounts? I’ve heard about the `/etc/passwd` file, but I’m not entirely sure what to look for in there. Should I be looking for something specific in the user ID ranges or maybe how the home directories are structured?

Also, I’d appreciate any tips on interpreting the output of whatever command you suggest. Like, if I run a command and it returns a list of names and info, how do I tell which ones are user accounts? Any help on this would be awesome! I’d love to get sorted out so I can better manage my machine and maybe even clean up some old accounts if that’s what I need. Thanks in advance for any insights you have on this!

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    2 Answers


    1. To effectively differentiate between human user accounts and system accounts on your Ubuntu system, you can utilize the `/etc/passwd` file, which contains information about all user accounts. Typically, human user accounts have user IDs (UIDs) greater than or equal to 1000, while system accounts have UIDs below 1000. This is a general convention in Ubuntu and many other Linux distributions. You can filter the user accounts with the following command:

      awk -F: '($3>=1000)&&($3!=65534){print $1}' /etc/passwd

      This command uses `awk` to read through the `/etc/passwd` file and prints the usernames (the first field) for accounts that have UIDs greater than or equal to 1000, while also excluding the `nobody` account (UID 65534). The output will give you a concise list of the human accounts on your system. To further understand the entries, remember that you can look up their home directories, which are usually located under `/home/` for human accounts, whereas system accounts typically don’t have home directories or may have them in `/var/`, `/srv/`, or similar directories.




    2. Understanding User Accounts on Ubuntu


      Getting a Grip on User Accounts in Ubuntu

      If you’re looking to find out which user accounts on your Ubuntu system are for actual human users—and not just system accounts or daemons—you’re in the right place! It can definitely get a bit overwhelming, but let’s break it down simple.

      What to Look For

      The usual way to check user accounts is to view the /etc/passwd file. Every user account is listed in this file along with some information about it. To see this file on the command line, you can use:

      cat /etc/passwd

      This will print all accounts. Each line represents a user and contains several fields separated by colons. Here’s a typical line:

      username:x:1001:1001:User Name,,,:/home/username:/bin/bash

      Understanding the Format

      The line is formatted like this:

      • username: the account name
      • x: placeholder for password (no longer relevant for most modern systems)
      • UID: the user ID number (important for filtering)
      • GID: the group ID number
      • Comment: usually the full name of the user
      • Home Directory: where the user’s files are stored
      • Shell: the default shell for the user

      Filtering Human User Accounts

      To filter out human accounts, you generally want to look for UID values above 1000 (this is the convention in many Linux distributions). You can run the following command to list only the human user accounts:

      awk -F: '($3>=1000)&&($3!=65534){print $1}' /etc/passwd

      This command uses awk to check the third field (the UID) and will only print accounts that have a UID of 1000 or greater and are not system accounts (like the “nobody” account with UID 65534).

      Checking Home Directories

      Another way to spot human accounts is by their home directories, which typically look like /home/username. If you see home directories that are not under /home, they’re usually for system accounts.

      Interpreting the Output

      When you run the filtering command, the output will simply be a list of usernames. Those are your human accounts! If you want to know more about each user, you can run:

      getent passwd username

      Just replace username with the actual name, and it will show you all details related to that user.

      Cleaning Up Old Accounts

      Once you have your list, you can go through them and see if there are any old or unused accounts you might want to remove. Just remember to be careful—always double-check if an account is really okay to delete!

      And there you go! With these commands and tips, you should be all set to manage user accounts on your Ubuntu system. Happy managing!


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