server-initializer/create-user.md

Creating a new user on your Linux server and configuring it for administrative tasks

1. Create a New User

• Log in to Your Server as the root user or a user with sudo privileges.
• Add a New User: sudo adduser newusername Replace newusername with the desired username.
• Follow the prompts to set the user's password and provide additional information.

2. Grant Sudo Privileges (Optional)

If you need the new user to have administrative privileges, add the user to the sudo group:

• Add User to the Sudo Group: sudo usermod -aG sudo newusername This command adds the user to the sudo group, which grants administrative permissions.

3. Configure SSH Access

• Switch to the New User: su - newusername
• Create SSH Directory and Authorized Keys:

  mkdir -p ~/.ssh
  chmod 700 ~/.ssh
  touch ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
  chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
  

• Add Your Public Key to authorized_keys:
  • Open authorized_keys in an editor: vim ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
  • Paste your SSH public key into the file

4. Configure SSH Access for New User

Ensure the new user can log in via SSH:

• Edit the SSH Configuration File (/etc/ssh/sshd_config): sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
• Verify or Add the Following Settings: PermitRootLogin no AllowUsers newusername PermitRootLogin no disables root login via SSH. AllowUsers newusername allows the new user to log in.
• Restart SSH Service: sudo systemctl restart ssh

5. Test SSH Access

• Log Out from the Root User or current session.
• Log In as the New User: ssh newusername@your_server_ip
• Verify that you can access the server with the new user.