Linux Basic Commands

8. userdel

userdel Command in Linux

The userdel command is used to delete a user account from the system.

⚠️ Requires root privileges, so use it with sudo.

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🔹 Basic Syntax:

userdel [username]

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🔹 Example:

userdel ashwin

👉 This command deletes the user account named ashwin.

🔸 Note: By default, this does not delete the user's home directory.

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🔹 Delete user and their home directory:

userdel -r ashwin

👉 This removes:

• The user account ashwin

• Their home folder: /home/ashwin

• Their mail spool and personal files

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🔹 How to confirm user is deleted:

cat /etc/passwd | grep ashwin

👉 If no output, the user is deleted.

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🔹 Warning:

Don’t delete users while they are logged in.
It can cause system issues. First, check:

who
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