Matt-Audu/HNG-Project-2
Mbarimam Audu
Cloud Infrastructure Architect
DevOps Engineer
Video Editor
AWS
Bash
Visual Studio Code
Automating User Management in linux
Overview
This script automates the process of creating user accounts on a Linux system. It reads a specified file containing user information, creates user accounts with home directories, sets up personal and additional groups, generates random passwords, and logs the process.
Prerequisites
The script must be run with root privileges to create user accounts and modify system files.
The employee file must be provided as an argument when running the script.
The employee file must be present in the same directory of the script.
Use a linux server (Ubuntu machine).
Script Usage
Employee File Format
The employee file should be a text file where each line represents a user and their groups. The format for each line is:
username: The name of the user to be created.group1,group2,group3: A comma-separated list of additional groups the user should be added to.Script Details
1. Initialization
EMPLOYEE_FILE: The first argument passed to the script, which should be the path to the employee file.LOG_FILE: The path to the log file where script activity will be recorded.PASSWORD_FILE: The path to the file where user passwords will be securely stored.2. File Setup
Ensures the log and password files exist.
Sets permissions on the password file to be readable and writable only by the owner.
3. Logging Function
A function to log messages with timestamps to both the console and the log file.
4. File Existence Checks
Checks if the employee file exists and exits if it does not.
5. Processsing User Entries
Reads each line in the employee file, splitting the username and groups.
6. User Creation and Setup
Checks if the user already exists and skips if they do.
Creates the user with a home directory and Bash shell.
7. Primary Group Setup
Creates a personal group for the user with the same username if it doesn't already exist and assigns the user to this group.
8. Additional Groups
Adds the user to any additional groups specified in the employee.txt file.
9. Password Generation and Assignment
Generates a random password for the user and sets it.
10. Securely Store Passwords
Stores the password in "/var/secure/user_passwords.txt"
11. Setting Home Directory Permissions
Sets appropriate permissions on the user's home directory.
12. Completion Log
Logs the completion of the user creation process.
Logging and Security
Log File:
/var/log/user_management.log records the script's activity.Password File:
/var/secure/user_passwords.txt stores the generated passwords securely, with permissions set to allow access only by the owner.
