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userdel

Delete a user account and related files

command User ManagementAdministrationSecurity

Overview

Deletes a user account and related files. It modifies the system account files, deleting all entries that refer to the LOGIN.

Syntax

userdel [OPTION]... LOGIN

Common Options

-f, --force

Forces the removal of the user account, even if the user is still logged in. It also forces removal of the home directory and mail spool if -r is used, even if shared or not owned by the user.

-r, --remove

Files in the user's home directory will be removed along with the home directory itself and the user's mail spool.

-Z, --selinux-user

Remove any SELinux user mapping for the user's login.

Examples

$ sudo userdel unwanteduser

Deletes the user account unwanteduser, but their home directory and mail spool remain.

$ sudo userdel -r oldemployee

Deletes the user oldemployee and also removes their home directory and mail spool.

$ sudo userdel -f problematicuser

Forcibly removes problematicuser, even if they are logged in. If used with -r, it will forcibly remove home/mail data.

Related Commands

chmod

Change file mode bits (permissions)

chown

Change file owner and group

sudo

Execute a command as another user (superuser)

useradd

Create a new user or update default new user information

usermod

Modify a user account

passwd

Update user`s authentication tokens (passwords)

useraccountdeleteremoveloginuserdel