Debian-specific behavior: 'useradd -m' ?
(I realize this may be a faq, but this
'useradd -m' is hard to google...)
Summary:
Is there a more-portable way to add users to a system then
useradd(8)?
Why does Debian's useradd(8) require a "-m" switch when other
unix/linux systems that I have seen do not?
Details:
On non-Debian systems:
$ useradd myname
...creates an a login named "myname" with a home directory of
/home/myname (or whatever pathname format the system conf/template files
specify).
On at least some flavor of Debian systems (I tested with Debian3.1-based
derivations), the home directory is *not* created unless one uses the
"-m" switch as in:
$ useradd -m myname
Whenever I go add users now to systems, I first check to see if said
system is a Debian one, then I make the choice above. I'm not sure
what "-m" does on non-Debian systems, if anything.
-Matt
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