Remove User from a Group Using “gpasswd” Command in 3 Steps

In Linux, groups are a way to control access and share resources where different groups enjoy different privileges. An administrator can remove a user from a group for different reasons as changing job responsibilities, security concerns etc. The gpasswd command is a powerful tool to add or remove a user and manage group passwords. In this article, I will show you how to remove a user from a group using the gpasswd command in Ubuntu.

Process flow chart to remove user from a group using “gpasswd” Command:

Distro Used Throughout the Tutorial: Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS

3 Steps to Remove a User from a Group using the gpasswd Command

In my Ubuntu, there is a user by the name of “walid” and he is in a group named “mygroup”. Now I will remove user walid from the mygroup group using the gpasswd by the following three steps:

Step 01: View Current Groups in Ubuntu

In the beginning, I will check the current groups of the user “walid”. To do so, follow the steps:

1. Launch an Ubuntu Terminal by pressing CTRL+ALT+T.
2. Insert the following command:

   groups walid

   EXPLANATION

   • groups: Allows to view and manage groups.
   • walid: Name of the user.

   This shows the groups that the user “walid” joined. Also, there is a group “mygroup” and I will remove the user from that group.

Step 02: Remove the User from a Group Using “gpasswd” in Linux

In this step, I will use the gpasswd to remove the user “walid” from group “mygroup”. Check the steps below:

1. Copy the command below on the Ubuntu Terminal:
   Command Syntax >
   sudo gpasswd -d USERNAME GROUPNAME

   sudo gpasswd -d walid mygroup

   EXPLANATION

   • sudo: Grants root privileges.
   • passwd: Adds or removes users and manages group passwords.
   • -d: Deletes user.
   • walid: Name of the user.
   • mygroup: Name of the group.
2. Provide the password (if necessary).
3. Press the ENTER button from the keyboard.In the output, you should see something like “Removing user walid from group mygroup”.

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Step 03: Check if the User is Removed Successfully in Linux

Finally, I will check if removing of user walid from group mygroup was successful. Follow the steps to verify it:

1. Write the following command on the terminal:

   groups walid

   EXPLANATION

   • groups: Allows to view and manage groups.
   • walid: Name of the user.
2. Hit the ENTER key from the keyboard.If you look carefully, you will see there is no group by the name of mygroup here. So I have successfully removed user “walid” from group “mygroup”.

Conclusion

In this article, I have tried to show you how to remove a user from a group in Ubuntu in a simple and comprehensive way. I hope you find my effort helpful.

People Also Ask

How to remove a user from a group using “gpasswd” command?

To remove a user from a group using gpasswd command, write the following code in your terminal:

sudo gpasswd -d walid mygroup

This command will delete the user “walid” from the group called “mygroup”.

What is gpasswd in Linux?

The gpasswd is a command that is used to administer groups in Linux. It writes group information in /etc/gshadow and /etc/group files. Using this command, an administrator can define group administrators and members.

How can I delete my group members?

There are multiple ways to delete a user from a group. However, the best approach is using the gpasswd command with option -d like: sudo gpasswd -d USERNAME GROUPNAME.

How to remove a password from a group in Linux?

You can use the gpasswd to remove passwords from a group. To do that, you need to use the option -r. For instance, if you have a group named “mygroup”, you can use the following command to remove the password from that group:

sudo gpasswd -r mygroup

How do you delete a group in Linux?

To delete a group in Linux, you need to use the groupdel command. You need to provide the group name as well. For example, if I want to delete a group named “mygroup”, I will use the following command:

sudo groupdel mygroup

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