# userdel

## NAME



           userdel - delete a user account and related files
    


## SYNOPSIS



    
           **userdel**[options] _LOGIN_
    


## DESCRIPTION



           The **userdel** command modifies the system account files, deleting
           all entries that refer to the user name _LOGIN_. The named user must
           exist.
    


## OPTIONS



           The options which apply to the **userdel** command are:
    
           **-f** , **--force**
               This option forces the removal of the user account and any
               other requested actions, skipping any safety checks.
    
               _Note:_ This option is dangerous and may leave your system in an
               inconsistent state.
    
           **-h** , **--help**
               Display help message and exit.
    
           **-r** , **--remove**
               Files in the user's home directory will be removed along with
               the home directory itself and the user's mail spool. Files
               located in other file systems will have to be searched for and
               deleted manually.
    
               The mail spool is defined by the **MAIL_DIR** variable in the
               login.defs file.
    
           **-R** , **--root** _CHROOT_DIR_
               Apply changes in the _CHROOT_DIR_ directory and use the
               configuration files from the _CHROOT_DIR_ directory. Only
               absolute paths are supported.
    
           **-P** , **--prefix** _PREFIX_DIR_
               Apply changes in the _PREFIX_DIR_ directory and use the
               configuration files from the _PREFIX_DIR_ directory. This option
               does not chroot and is intended for preparing a
               cross-compilation target. Some limitations: NIS and LDAP
               users/groups are not verified. PAM authentication is using the
               host files. No SELINUX support.
    
           **-Z** , **--selinux-user**
               Remove any SELinux user mapping for the user's login.
    


## CONFIGURATION



           The following configuration variables in /etc/login.defs change
           the behavior of this tool:
    
           **MAIL_DIR**(string)
               The mail spool directory. This is needed to manipulate the
               mailbox when its corresponding user account is modified or
               deleted. If not specified, a compile-time default is used. The
               parameter CREATE_MAIL_SPOOL in /etc/default/useradd determines
               whether the mail spool should be created.
    
           **MAIL_FILE**(string)
               Defines the location of the users mail spool files relatively
               to their home directory.
    
           The **MAIL_DIR** and **MAIL_FILE** variables are used by **useradd** , **usermod** ,
           and **userdel** to create, move, or delete the user's mail spool.
    
           **MAX_MEMBERS_PER_GROUP**(number)
               Maximum members per group entry. When the maximum is reached,
               a new group entry (line) is started in /etc/group (with the
               same name, same password, and same GID).
    
               The default value is 0, meaning that there are no limits in
               the number of members in a group.
    
               This feature (split group) permits to limit the length of
               lines in the group file. This is useful to make sure that
               lines for NIS groups are not larger than 1024 characters.
    
               If you need to enforce such limit, you can use 25.
    
               Note: split groups may not be supported by all tools (even in
               the Shadow toolsuite). You should not use this variable unless
               you really need it.
    
           **USERDEL_CMD**(string)
               If defined, this command is run when removing a user. It
               should remove any at/cron/print jobs etc. owned by the user to
               be removed (passed as the first argument).
    
               The return code of the script is not taken into account.
    
               Here is an example script, which removes the user's cron, at
               and print jobs:
    
                   #! /bin/sh
    
                   # Check for the required argument.
                   if [ $# != 1 ]; then
                        echo "Usage: $0 username"
                        exit 1
                   fi
    
                   # Remove cron jobs.
                   crontab -r -u $1
    
                   # Remove at jobs.
                   # Note that it will remove any jobs owned by the same UID,
                   # even if it was shared by a different username.
                   AT_SPOOL_DIR=/var/spool/cron/atjobs
                   find $AT_SPOOL_DIR -name "[^.]*" -type f -user $1 -delete \;
    
                   # Remove print jobs.
                   lprm $1
    
                   # All done.
                   exit 0
    
           **USERGROUPS_ENAB**(boolean)
               If set to _yes_ , **userdel** will remove the user's group if it
               contains no more members, and **useradd** will create by default a
               group with the name of the user.
    


## FILES



           /etc/group
               Group account information.
    
           /etc/login.defs
               Shadow password suite configuration.
    
           /etc/passwd
               User account information.
    
           /etc/shadow
               Secure user account information.
    
           /etc/shadow-maint/userdel-pre.d/*,
           /etc/shadow-maint/userdel-post.d/*
               Run-part files to execute during user deletion. The
               environment variable **ACTION** will be populated with **userdel** and
               **SUBJECT** with the username.  userdel-pre.d will be executed
               prior to any user deletion.  userdel-post.d will execute after
               user deletion. If a script exits non-zero then execution will
               terminate.
    
           /etc/subgid
               Per user subordinate group IDs.
    
           /etc/subuid
               Per user subordinate user IDs.
    


## EXIT VALUES



           The **userdel** command exits with the following values:
    
           _0_
               success
    
           _1_
               can't update password file
    
           _2_
               invalid command syntax
    
           _6_
               specified user doesn't exist
    
           _8_
               user currently logged in
    
           _10_
               can't update group file
    
           _12_
               can't remove home directory
    


## CAVEATS



           **userdel** will not allow you to remove an account if there are
           running processes which belong to this account. In that case, you
           may have to kill those processes or lock the user's password or
           account and remove the account later. The **-f** option can force the
           deletion of this account.
    
           You should manually check all file systems to ensure that no files
           remain owned by this user.
    
           You may not remove any NIS attributes on a NIS client. This must
           be performed on the NIS server.
    
           If **USERGROUPS_ENAB** is defined to _yes_ in /etc/login.defs, **userdel**
           will delete the group with the same name as the user. To avoid
           inconsistencies in the passwd and group databases, **userdel** will
           check that this group is not used as a primary group for another
           user, and will just warn without deleting the group otherwise. The
           **-f** option can force the deletion of this group.
    


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