GROUPADD

groupadd ? Create a new group

groupadd [-g gid [-o]] [-r] [-f] group

The groupadd command creates a new group account using the values specified on the command line and the default values from the system. The new group will be entered into the system files as needed. The options which apply to the groupadd command are

-g gid

The numerical value of the group’s ID. This value must be unique, unless the -o option is used. The value must be non-negative. The default is to use the smallest ID value greater than 500 and greater than every other group. Values between 0 and 499 are typically reserved for system accounts.

-r

This flag instructs groupadd to add a system account. First available gid lower than 499 will be automatically selected unless -g option is given also on the command line.

This is an option added by Red Hat Software.

-f

This is force flag. This will stop groupadd exit with error when the group about to be added already exists on the system. If that is the case, the group won’t be altered (or added again, for that matter).

This option also modifies the way -g option works. When you request a gid that it is not unique and you don’t give -o option too, the group creation will fall back to the standard behavior (adding a group as neither -g or -o options were specified).
This is an option added by Red Hat Software.

/etc/group ? group account information
/etc/gshadow ? secure group account information

chfn(1), chsh(1), useradd(8), userdel(8), usermod(8), passwd(1), groupdel(8), groupmod(8)

Julianne Frances Haugh (jfh@bga.com)