4.3. Adding the LFS User
When logged in as user root, making a
single mistake can damage or destroy a system. Therefore, the
packages in the next two chapters are built as an unprivileged user.
You could use your own user name, but to make it easier to set up a
clean working environment, create a new user called lfs as a member of a new group (also named
lfs) and use this user during the
installation process. As root, issue
the following commands to add the new user:
groupadd lfs useradd -s /bin/bash -g lfs -m -k /dev/null lfs
The meaning of the command line options:
-
-s /bin/bash -
This makes bash the default shell for user
lfs. -
-g lfs -
This option adds user
lfsto grouplfs. -
-m -
This creates a home directory for
lfs. -
-k /dev/null -
This parameter prevents possible copying of files from a skeleton directory (default is
/etc/skel) by changing the input location to the special null device. -
lfs -
This is the actual name for the created user.
To log in as lfs (as opposed to
switching to user lfs when logged in
as root, which does not require the
lfs user to have a password), give
lfs a password:
passwd lfs
Grant lfs full access to all
directories under $LFS by making
lfs the directory owner:
chown -v lfs $LFS/{usr{,/*},boot,lib,lib64,var,etc,bin,sbin,tools}
If a separate working directory was created as suggested, give user
lfs ownership of this directory:
chown -v lfs $LFS/sources
![[Note]](../images/note.png)
Note
In some host systems, the following command does not complete properly and suspends the login to the lfs user to the background. If the prompt "lfs:~$" does not appear immediately, entering the fg command will fix the issue.
Next, login as user lfs. This can be
done via a virtual console, through a display manager, or with the
following substitute/switch user command:
su - lfs
The “-” instructs
su to start a login
shell as opposed to a non-login shell. The difference between these
two types of shells can be found in detail in bash(1) and info
bash.