Recipe 8.20. Using su to Be Root Temporarily
8.20.1 Problem
Like all good Linux users, you
understand the importance of using the least necessary privileges to
get a job done. You know that root is all-powerful, so you run as
root only when absolutely necessary. How do you temporarily switch to
root when you need to?
8.20.2 Solution
Use the su, or "switch
user," command when you need to do system chores:
carla@windbag:~$ su
Password:
root@windbag:/home/carla#
Then go back to being yourself:
root@windbag:/home/carla# exit
exit
carla@windbag:~$
To change to root and invoke root's shell and
environment settings use:
carla@windbag:~$ su -
Password:
root@windbag:~#
To change to a different shell use:
$ su - —shell=tcsh
Password:
Available shells are listed in /etc/shells.
8.20.3 Discussion
You can change to any user, as long as you have the password.
The dash after su makes a world of difference.
Without it, you're still in your own system
environment, using your environment variables—shell, default
editor, paths, and umask.
8.20.4 See Also
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