How to Create User with UID and GID in Ubuntu? [3 Cases]

Md. Ashakul Islam Sowad
Written by Md. Ashakul Islam Sowad
Mrinmoy Roy
Reviewed by Mrinmoy Roy
Last updated: Apr 1, 2024

Linux-based systems are multiuser systems which means multiple users can operate on the same system. These users are identified by their unique UIDs(user identifiers), Moreover, users are also assigned to a group with a specific GID(group identifier) when they are created.

To create user with UID and GID in Ubuntu, you can follow the below steps:

  1. Create a group with specific GID: Run sudo groupadd -g <XXXX> <GroupName>.
  2. Confirm group’s GID: Run getent group | grep <GroupName>.
  3. Create a new user with specific UID and GID: Run sudo useradd -u <YYYY> -g <XXXX> <USERNAME>.
  4. Confirm the user’s desired UID and GID: Run id <USERNAME>.

 In this article, I will elaborately discuss the abovementioned steps along with two more cases.

Table of Contents Expand

What is UID in Ubuntu?

UID (User IDentifier) is a unique number per user, specifying a user within the Linux system and it determines which elements the user can work with. As with the user’s list, UIDs are also stored in the /etc/passwd file. In Ubuntu, like most other Linux distributions for new users, UID starts from 1000.

What is GID in Ubuntu?

GID (Group IDentifiers) is a unique number for a group of users who share some common entities. A user can belong to multiple groups so it can have multiple GIDs. As with the user’s list & UIDs, GIDs are also stored in the /etc/passwd file. In Ubuntu, like most other Linux distributions for new groups, GID starts from 1000.

3 Cases to Create User with UID and GID in Ubuntu

When creating a group you can set your own GID.  You can do the same for UID when you are creating a new user to the system. Thus you can create user with UID and GID if you set them while creating group and user.

This article mentions 3 cases to create a user with UID and GID in Linux including creating a user with only a specific UID, adding a user with only a specific GID and finally creating a user with UID and GID.

1. Create a User with Only Specific UID

To create a user with only specific UID, you have to mention the UID while creating the user as follows:

1. Create a New User with a Specific UID in Ubuntu

You can create a new user with your desired UID from the terminal using the useradd command. However, You have to be a root user to execute the useradd command. Check the steps below to do that:

  1. Open the Ubuntu Terminal by pressing CTRL+ALT+T.
  2. Type the following command in the Ubuntu terminal: 
    sudo useradd -u 2013 rick
    EXPLANATION
    • sudo: Grants administrative privileges.
    • useradd: Adds a new user
    • -u 2013: Sets the UID to 2013.
    • rick: Creates a new user named rick.
    In the following image, you can see that I have created a new user named “rick”.Creating user with specific UID using the useradd command in Ubuntu.
  3. Now, set a password to login into the newly created user “rick” by typing the following command: 
    sudo passwd rick

    Here the passwd command sets/changes the password.

    After running the above command, you’ll be able to set a password for the newly created user like the following image. Moreover, now you can log into the new user “rick” whenever you want.Setting password for the new user.

2. Confirm Whether the User Contains the Specific UID

You can check whether the new user “rick” contains the assigned UID (2013) by using the id command. Here is how:

id rick

In the following image, you can see that the new user “rick” has been assigned with the desired UID 2013.Checking the UID and GID of the newly created user in Ubuntu.

Note: By default, a newly created user contains the GID same as the UID if not specified.

2. Create a User with Only Specific GID

To create a user with only specific GID, first you need to create the group mentioning your GID and then add user with that GID. Follow the 4 steps to do so:

1. Create a Group with a Specific GID in Ubuntu

You can create a new group with your desired GID from the terminal using the groupadd command. However, You have to be a root user to execute the groupadd command.

To create a group with specific GID, use groupadd -g command. Here is an example where I created a group named “mortygroup” with GID 2023:

sudo groupadd -g 2023 mortygroup
EXPLANATION
  • groupadd: Adds a new user
  • -g 2013: Sets the GID to 2023.
  • mortygroup: Creates a new group named mortygroup.

In the following image, you can see that I have created a new group named “mortygroup”.Creating a new group with specific GID using the groupadd command in Ubuntu.

2. Confirm Whether the Group Contains the Specific GID

You can check whether the new group “mortygroup” contains the assigned GID (2023) by typing the following command:

getent group | grep mortygroup
EXPLANATION
  • getent: Looks into the administrative database that is given as its argument.
  • Pipe (|): Redirects the standard output.
  • grep: Looks for a specific pattern given to it as an argument.
Checking the GID of the newly created group.In the above image, you can see that the new group “mortygroup” has been assigned with the desired GID 2023.

3. Create a New User with a Specific GID in Ubuntu

Now, create a new user with your desired GID from the terminal using the useradd command with the -g option followed by the desired GID. However, You have to be a root user to execute the useradd command. Go through the steps below:

  1. Open the Ubuntu Terminal.
  2. Type the following command in the Ubuntu terminal: 
    sudo useradd -g 2023 morty

    In the following image, you can see that I have created a new user named “morty”.Creating the new user with the desired GID.

  3. Now, Set a password for the user by typing the following command: 
    sudo passwd morty

    After running the above command, you’ll be able to set a password for the newly created user like the following image. Moreover, now you can log into the new user “morty” whenever you want.Setting password for the newly created user.

4. Confirm Whether the User Contains the Desired GID

You can check whether the new user “morty” contains the assigned GID (2023) by typing the following command:

id -g morty

In the following image, you can see that I have created the new user “morty” with our desired GID 2023.Checking the GID of the newly created user using the id command.

3. Create a User with Specific UID and GID

To create a user with specific UID and GID, first create a group with your desired GID and then add the user with your specific UID and GID. Here is how:

1. Create a Group with a Specific GID

You can create a new group with your desired GID from the terminal using the groupadd command. However, You have to be a root user to execute the groupadd command. Here, I have created a group named “rmgroup” with GID 2060. To do so type the following command in the Ubuntu terminal:

sudo groupadd -g 2060 rmgroup
EXPLANATION
  • -g 2060: Sets the GID to 2060.
  • rmgroup: Creates a new group named rmgroup.

In the following image, you can see that I have created a new group named “rmgroup”.Creating a group with a specific GID 2060 using the groupadd command in Ubuntu.

2. Confirm Whether the Group Contains the Specific GID

You can check whether the new group “rmgroup” contains the assigned GID (2060) by typing the following command:

getent group | grep rmgroup

In the following image, you can see that I have created the new group “rmgroup” with the desired GID 2060.Checking the GID of the newly created group.

3. Create a New User with the Specific UID and GID in Ubuntu

To create a user with a specific UID and GID in the terminal, use the useradd command. Add the -u option for the UID and -g for the GID, followed by the desired numbers. However, You have to be a root user to execute the useradd command. Here’s how you can do it:

  1. Open the Ubuntu Terminal.
  2. Type the following command in the Ubuntu terminal: 
    sudo useradd -u 2050 -g 2060 rickmorty

    In the following image, you can see that I have created a new user named “rickmorty”.Creating user with UID and GID in Ubuntu.

  3. Now, set a password for the user by typing the following command: 
    sudo passwd rickmorty

    After running the above command, you’ll be able to set a password for the newly created user like the following image. Moreover, now you can log into the new user “rickmorty” whenever you want.Setting password for the newly created user.

4. Confirm Whether the User Contains the Desired UID and GID

You can check whether the new user contains the assigned UID (2050) and GID (2060) by typing the following command:

id rickmorty

In the following image, you can see that I have created a new user “rickmorty” with our desired UID, 2050 & GID, 2060.Checking the UID and GID of the newly created user using the id command in ubuntu.

Conclusion

In Linux-based multiuser systems UIDs and GIDs play an important role in maintaining the harmony of the system resource distributions among multiple users and groups. Hope this article will help you to play with the approaches to create a user with custom UID and GID in Ubuntu.

People Also Ask

How to add user with specific UID GID in Ubuntu?

To add user with specific UID and GID in Ubuntu, first create a group with the specific GID: sudo groupadd -g <NNNN> <GroupName>. Then create a user with that GID and your specific UID: sudo useradd -u <XXXX> -g <NNNN> <USERNAME>.

Can GID and UID be the same?

Yes, in Unix-like operating systems, GID and UID can be the same. They’re both numerical identifiers that are given to users and groups. It’s pretty common for them to be the same, but there’s no rule that they should be different. Some administrators might want to make sure that a user’s GID matches their UID for convenience or other reasons.

What does UID 1000 mean?

UID 1000 usually stands for user identifier 1000. In Unix-based systems, every user is given a unique identifier for identification. Usually, UID 1000 is the default number assigned to the initial user created on a system. This number is important for managing the system and setting the file permissions.

What does GID 1000 mean?

GID 1000 is usually the group identifier that’s assigned to the user group on a Unix-like system. It’s usually used to tell regular user accounts apart from system users and other groups. On Unix-like systems, like Linux, each person has their unique user ID and they belong to one of the groups identified by GID. GID 1000 usually represents the main group of regular non-administrators.

How do I find my user UID in Ubuntu?

To find your user UID, simply run: id -u User_Name. UIDs are stored in the same /etc/passwd file as the user’s list in Linux. You can also check this file to get your UID.

How do I find my user GID in Ubuntu?

To find your user GID, simply run the command: id -g -n User_Name. GIDs are stored in the same /etc/passwd file as the user’s list in Linux. By checking this file, you can also get your GID.

How to set UID in Linux?

You can set a new UID of a user by using the usermod command. To change your user’s UID to XXXX you can run the following command: usermod -u XXXX User_Name

How to set GID in Linux?

You can set a new GID of a user by using the groupmod command. To change the GID of a group of your user to XXXX you can run the following command: groupmod -g XXXX Group_Name.

What are the UID and GID of the root?

Both the UID and GID of the root user are 0 in Linux. The root user is the supreme one among all users in the Linux system. Moreover, the root user can exercise all kinds of special powers in a Linux-based system. To conclude, It is not the naming that makes it supreme but this special UID and GID.

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Md. Ashakul Islam Sowad

Hi, I am Md. Ashakul Islam Sowad from Dhaka, Bangladesh. I have completed my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). I love to watch football and play video games in my free time. Here, I am working as a Linux Content Developer Executive. Furthermore, as a Linux enthusiast, I am always learning new things about Linux-based systems and I’ll be sharing them here. Read Full Bio

2 thoughts on “How to Create User with UID and GID in Ubuntu? [3 Cases]”

  1. This post is very informative and I would dare to say this is absolut singular on the internet, or maybe its me who cant find anything remotely close to this when it comes to a novice like myself actually (almost) being able to understand what I’m presented by. remarkable, thank you!

    If I may ask, if I want to recreate this user “pi:x:1000:100:,,,:/home/pi:/bin/bash” how would I go about and write the two line of terminal cods?

    I would be very appreciative if you could help me out!

    Reply

    • Thank you for your kind words! I am glad this can be a useful resource for beginners.

      If you want to recreate the user pi with pi:x:1000:100:,,,:/home/pi:/bin/bash information, first execute the following command to add the new user:
      sudo useradd -u 1000 -g 100 -c ",,," -d /home/pi -s /bin/bash pi

      Then you need to add the user password using:
      sudo passwd pi

      But, you should also know that this will throw you an error saying UID 1000 is not unique. This happens because in your system your very 1st user usually uses UID 1000. To resolve this issue you can add this new user with another UID or you can let your system automatically assign you a UID.

      If you want to go the extra mile to get the exact result then you can create a 2nd user and then from the 2nd user change the UID of the 1st user. After that from the 1st user change the 2nd user’s UID to 1000.

      If you need more specific or detailed information, feel free to create a new thread in our forum.

      Reply

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