How to Create a Non-login User in Linux

If you are a system administrator and are looking for ways to make your Linux system more secure or want to automate certain processes, creating a non-login user is the solution. Non-login users can prove to be very useful for a variety of cases right from limiting access to your Linux system to running specific processes with restricted privileges. Here, we will guide you through the steps to create a non-login user in Linux and set the appropriate permissions for them.

A non-login user is a type of user account that has restricted access to the Linux system and can only perform specific tasks or run certain processes without logging into the system. Unlike regular users, non-login users do not have access to a regular shell or the home directory. Hence, they cannot log in to your Linux PC. Some common uses of creating a non-login user are to automate tasks, run specific processes or improve your system’s overall security by restricting access. 

There are two different methods to create a non-login user in Linux, which are straightforward and easy. But there are some prerequisites you need to take care of:

• Any Linux-based operating system (preferably the latest version)
• A user with root access or sudo privilege

Now that you have the prerequisites, we will now discuss using the adduser command and editing the passwd file to create non-login users in Linux.