General user advice

famp · 2011-12-07 20:22:38

I'm looking for advice on a new arch install (pogoplug pro). Normally in ubuntu I would not be using root and using sudo to install apps with apt-get. Is it a good or bad idea to be installing apps with root? Is it the equivalent of adding my new user to the sudoers file and just installing as my new user with sudo? I'd appreciate any tips or general advice as to best practices for managing users and applications.

bjornoslav · 2011-12-07 20:28:50

Use sudo for administrative purposes (package installation, system upgrades, editing configuration files in /etc, disk partitioning...) and an ordinary user account for everything else.

bwat47 · 2011-12-07 21:50:54

I use root during the initial setup when I'm installing tons of packages, so I don't have to keep typing sudo. once I install a DE I use my normal user and sudo.

fsckd · 2011-12-07 21:56:24

famp wrote:

Normally in ubuntu I would not be using root and using sudo to install apps with apt-get. Is it a good or bad idea to be installing apps with root? Is it the equivalent of adding my new user to the sudoers file and just installing as my new user with sudo?

Not sure you understand sudo,

> whoami
fsckd
> sudo whoami
Password: 
root

It should not be much of a difference if you use sudo as a regular user or login as root.

/dev/zero · 2011-12-07 22:23:17

bwat47 wrote:

I use root during the initial setup when I'm installing tons of packages, so I don't have to keep typing sudo. once I install a DE I use my normal user and sudo.

Similar, except I don't wait until I have graphics. I make it my priority to first install sudo, then create my normal user, and add them to sudoers, before doing pretty much anything else on the machine. Xorg and a window manager can be installed from the command line by a normal user applying sudo.

HeSaid · 2011-12-07 23:02:04

+1 to /dev/zero.
Install everything essential from command line, create user, visudo to add user, reboot and login as user.
--
Neal

.:B:. · 2011-12-08 00:13:34

su works nice as well imho, constantly prefixing every command with sudo is a chore, even if your sudo setup remembers your password for a while.

hadrons123 · 2011-12-08 00:56:33

'su -' is better than 'su'. i dont know the reason,but i read somewhere in forums.

thisoldman · 2011-12-08 01:44:54

.:B:. wrote:

su works nice as well imho, constantly prefixing every command with sudo is a chore, even if your sudo setup remembers your password for a while.

I agree. I will usually use 'su' or 'su -', but I have also found it convenient to have:

alias _='sudo'

This leads to cryptic command sequences like this one, that for some reason tickle me.

$ swapoff -a
swapoff: Not superuser.
$ _ !!
_ swapoff -a
Password:

kyla · 2011-12-08 03:53:11

If I'm understanding the original question correctly, fsckd is right. Using sudo means you're running it as root. In ubuntu you have one user that has root privileges when you use sudo. In arch (and most other distros?) you have a separate root user with its own password, which you can acces from other users via sudo.

sonoran · 2011-12-08 07:45:16

hadrons123 wrote:

'su -' is better than 'su'. i dont know the reason,but i read somewhere in forums.

Hi hadrons123.

Adding the "-" after su is equal to "su -l" and "su --login", so you are logging in as root,
with root's environment, the current directory is changed to /root, and the shell sources
its login startup files.

If for example you want to use gedit to open files your regular user doesn't have permission on,
entering "su" and then "gedit" in the shell fails with the error "Could not connect to session bus".

"su -" and then "gedit" starts gedit ok and you can then edit files owned by root.

hadrons123 · 2011-12-08 07:51:51

good info to know.thank you sonoran.

Last edited by hadrons123 (2011-12-08 07:52:27)

Arch Linux

#1 2011-12-07 20:22:38

General user advice

#2 2011-12-07 20:28:50

Re: General user advice

#3 2011-12-07 21:50:54

Re: General user advice

#4 2011-12-07 21:56:24

Re: General user advice

#5 2011-12-07 22:23:17

Re: General user advice

#6 2011-12-07 23:02:04

Re: General user advice

#7 2011-12-08 00:13:34

Re: General user advice

#8 2011-12-08 00:56:33

Re: General user advice

#9 2011-12-08 01:44:54

Re: General user advice

#10 2011-12-08 03:53:11

Re: General user advice

#11 2011-12-08 07:45:16

Re: General user advice

#12 2011-12-08 07:51:51

Re: General user advice

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