Getting the "adduser" script to work on Linux

A reader writes:

" Hi, I'm a very beginner at shell scripting and unix/linux. I have your book (Wicked Cool Shell Scripts) and it is really great. So far I've done two or three, Inpath is the one i use most. I'm going make a user for an ftp account so my friends can upload/download songs and other files. I decided to use your adduser script for the job but when i run the script i get an erorr like - /etc/passwd : permission denied. How do i give the script permission to write to /etc/passwd? Sorry if this is an obvious question but i couldn't find an answer. I used chmod 755 and ran it as root. By the way, i really like the site and book cover, i wish all linux/programming manuals had really cool covers."

Dave's Answer:

First off, thanks for the kind words!

In terms of your problem, I would want to see the permissions of both the file /etc/passwd, and, since it needs to add information to it too, /etc/shadow too.

If you're running as root, theoretically, all should be well, but Linux isn't 100% predictable, so...

Please respond with that information as a comment to this thread and we'll continue to debug your problem!

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Categorized: Shell Script Programming (Article 3714, Written by Dave Taylor)
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Reader Comments To Date: 4

v said, on November 26, 2005 10:10 AM:

how to find root password using shell script?

Dave Taylor said, on November 26, 2005 2:38 PM:

Well, gosh, hmmm... if you want to learn how to hack into a Linux system, I think you've come to the wrong place. :-)

joey said, on July 24, 2008 5:27 AM:

I have the same error:

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1117 Jul 24 11:32 shadow
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1616 Jul 24 11:31 passwd

Vinit said, on September 3, 2008 3:24 PM:

Hi i wanted to know how will i write a post installation script in a kickstart file in linux to changes a few words in the inittab file for example "kernel" to kerne!" and also the grub.conf and the fstab entries as well. coz i want to create an automated troubleshooting situations for myself

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

Getting the "adduser" script to work on Linux

Reader Comments To Date: 4

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

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