5. etc/group

Lesson Content

Another file that is used in user management is the /etc/group file. This file allows for different groups with different permissions.

$ cat /etc/group

root:*:0:pete

Very similar to the /etc/password field, the /etc/group fields are as follows:

  • Group name
  • Group password - there isn’t a need to set a group password, using an elevated privilege like sudo is standard. A “*” will be put in place as the default value.
  • Group ID (GID)
  • List of users - you can manually specify users you want in a specific group

Exercise

Run the command groups. What do you see?

Quiz Question

# What is the GID of root? > - Groups in Linux are defined by GIDs (group IDs): > - GID 0 (zero) is reserved for the root group. > - GID 1–99 are reserved for the system and application use. > - GID 100+ allocated for the user’s group. 1. [ ] r 2. [ ] \# 3. [ ] 1 4. [x] 0