4.4BSD/usr/share/man/cat8/adduser.0

ADDUSER(8)                BSD System Manager's Manual               ADDUSER(8)

NNAAMMEE
     aadddduusseerr - procedure for adding new users

DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN
     A new user must choose a login name, which must not already appear in
     _/_e_t_c_/_p_a_s_s_w_d or _/_e_t_c_/_a_l_i_a_s_e_s. It must also not begin with the hyphen `--'
     character.  It is strongly recommended that it be all lower-case, and not
     contain the dot `.' character, as that tends to confuse mailers.  An ac-
     count can be added by editing a line into the passwd file; this must be
     done with the password file locked e.g. by using chpass(1) or vipw(8).

     A new user is given a group and user id.  Login and user id's should be
     unique across the system, and often across a group of systems, since they
     are used to control file access.  Typically, users working on similar
     projects will be put in the same groups.  At the University of Califor-
     nia, Berkeley, we have groups for system staff, faculty, graduate stu-
     dents, and special groups for large projects.

     A skeletal account for a new user ernie might look like:

     ernie::25:30::0:0:Ernie Kovacs,508 Evans Hall,x7925,
             642-8202:/a/users/ernie:/bin/csh

     For a description of each of these fields, see passwd(5).

     It is useful to give new users some help in getting started, supplying
     them with a few skeletal files such as _._p_r_o_f_i_l_e if they use _/_b_i_n_/_s_h, or
     _._c_s_h_r_c and _._l_o_g_i_n if they use _/_b_i_n_/_c_s_h. The directory _/_u_s_r_/_s_h_a_r_e_/_s_k_e_l
     contains skeletal definitions of such files.  New users should be given
     copies of these files which, for instance, use tset(1) automatically at
     each login.

FFIILLEESS
     /etc/master.passwd    user database
     /usr/share/skel       skeletal login directory

SSEEEE AALLSSOO
     chpass(1),  finger(1),  passwd(1),  aliases(5),  passwd(5),  pwd_mkdb(8),
      vipw(8)

BBUUGGSS
     User information should (and eventually will) be stored elsewhere.

HHIISSTTOORRYY
     The aadddduusseerr command appeared in 3.0BSD.

4th Berkeley Distribution        June 5, 1993                                1