Arch Linux

Sheeb1

Member

Registered: 2024-06-14

Posts: 21

Making sure i didnt break anything with wheel group

When I installed arch i added my users (2) to the wheel group for sudo privileges but when i  tried installing in terminal after completing installation it said i wasn't on the sudoers file, so I logged in as root to change the sudoers file and uncommented a line allowing group wheel to do all commands with sudo. Is this fine? Wanted to make sure this isnt similar to being signed in as root 24/7.

Trilby

Inspector Parrot

Registered: 2011-11-29

Posts: 30,330

Website

Re: Making sure i didnt break anything with wheel group

I'm not sure I follow - in order to use sudo you need to edit the sudoers file just as you describe.  This is outlined in the wiki.

As long as you didn't specify NOPASSWD with it, it will require your password each time you use sudo (at least the first time within the timeout period).  This is how sudo is meant to be used and is not at all like being signed in as root continuously.  Though any privilege escalation system does technically weaken security a bit this is the intended function of sudo.  Personally I don't like the timeout period (meaning another command can be run with sudo without a password) but that's (mostly) personal preference.

---

"UNIX is simple and coherent" - Dennis Ritchie; "GNU's Not Unix" - Richard Stallman

user7z

Member

Registered: 2024-02-26

Posts: 35

Re: Making sure i didnt break anything with wheel group

Wanted to make sure this isnt similar to being signed in as root 24/7.

Its not , you just use the root acees for the any wanted command by typing sudo and type your user's password , loging as root 24/7 cant be done on regular users even if you setup the NOPASSWD , as this last one doesnot require you to conforme you are that user , but it requires the keyword "sudo" , an alternative : doas