how to get username use another home directory
Hi, Just installed Fedora from scratch on a machine using the XFCE spin. I usually keep the userspace in another partition, /usr/local (let us say /usr/local/trotter. Previously, I would add skip the create user step and log in as root and then create user with directory using system-config-users. However, this is apparently no longer allowed, and I am required to create an user. How do I get this user to have its "home" in /usr/local/trotter? I guess one way out is to create a fake user and then go in, use system-config-users and then delete the fake user. Is there a more elegant way? Many thanks and best wishes, Trotter -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: how to get username use another home directory
Globe Trotter wrote: > I usually keep the userspace in another partition, /usr/local (let > us say /usr/local/trotter. I'm curious, why not just have /home be on a different partition? That seems more elegant to me (and would work better with SELinux as well, though you might not care if you disable SELinux or run in permissive mode :). > Previously, I would add skip the create user step and log in as root > and then create user with directory using system-config-users. > However, this is apparently no longer allowed, and I am required to > create an user. How do I get this user to have its "home" in > /usr/local/trotter? I guess one way out is to create a fake user and > then go in, use system-config-users and then delete the fake user. > Is there a more elegant way? This is the sort of task I'd do from a text console (but then, I say that sort of thing a lot ;). If you create the user trotter at first boot, use CTRL-ALT-F2 at the login screen to get to a console. Then login as root and use something like: # usermod -m --home /usr/local/trotter trotter The -m option moves the current home dir to the new dir. Obviously, you don't want trotter logged in when you do this. -- ToddOpenPGP -> KeyID: 0xBEAF0CE3 | URL: www.pobox.com/~tmz/pgp ~~ All decent people live beyond their incomes nowadays, and those who aren't respectable live beyond other peoples'. -- Saki pgp5KoJ5W2UD7.pgp Description: PGP signature -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: how to get username use another home directory
> I'm curious, why not just have /home be on a different > partition? > That seems more elegant to me (and would work better with > SELinux as > well, though you might not care if you disable SELinux or > run in > permissive mode :). Thanks! I wonder that myself, sometimes, but it is for historical reasons. In the days that there was no rpms, I used to keep locally installed programs there and did not want it wiped out with every new tinkering. I still use some of them, but all options are set to use /usr/local/trotter, etc. > > Previously, I would add skip the create user step and > log in as root > > and then create user with directory using > system-config-users. > > However, this is apparently no longer allowed, and I > am required to > > create an user. How do I get this user to have its > "home" in > > /usr/local/trotter? I guess one way out is to create a > fake user and > > then go in, use system-config-users and then delete > the fake user. > > Is there a more elegant way? > > This is the sort of task I'd do from a text console > (but then, I say > that sort of thing a lot ;). If you create the user > trotter at first > boot, use CTRL-ALT-F2 at the login screen to get to a > console. Then > login as root and use something like: > > # usermod -m --home /usr/local/trotter trotter > > The -m option moves the current home dir to the new dir. > Obviously, > you don't want trotter logged in when you do this. Thanks! However, does it not wipe out the /usr/local/trotter directory. I just want to get rid of the /home/trotter and make everything point to /usr/local/trotter directory (which exists from an earlier installation). I haven't actually tried this, but am just wondering. Isn't it is a better option to allow for a home directory to be chosen at installation? I have never figured out why Fedora does not allow this choice (with a default). Trotter -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: how to get username use another home directory
If I understand the question correctly, here is my 2 cents. I simply move the original '/home' dir to a partition of my liking then create a symlink from / to that partition. Then I rename /home to something else. Has worked perfectly for me so far H. On 16 Jan 2009 at 10:02, Globe Trotter wrote: > > I'm curious, why not just have /home be on a different > > partition? > > That seems more elegant to me (and would work better with > > SELinux as > > well, though you might not care if you disable SELinux or > > run in > > permissive mode :). > > Thanks! I wonder that myself, sometimes, but it is for historical reasons. In > the days that there was no rpms, I used to keep locally installed programs > there and did not want it wiped out with every new tinkering. I still use > some of them, but all options are set to use /usr/local/trotter, etc. > > > > Previously, I would add skip the create user step and > > log in as root > > > and then create user with directory using > > system-config-users. > > > However, this is apparently no longer allowed, and I > > am required to > > > create an user. How do I get this user to have its > > "home" in > > > /usr/local/trotter? I guess one way out is to create a > > fake user and > > > then go in, use system-config-users and then delete > > the fake user. > > > Is there a more elegant way? > > > > This is the sort of task I'd do from a text console > > (but then, I say > > that sort of thing a lot ;). If you create the user > > trotter at first > > boot, use CTRL-ALT-F2 at the login screen to get to a > > console. Then > > login as root and use something like: > > > > # usermod -m --home /usr/local/trotter trotter > > > > The -m option moves the current home dir to the new dir. > > Obviously, > > you don't want trotter logged in when you do this. > > Thanks! However, does it not wipe out the /usr/local/trotter directory. I > just want to get rid of the /home/trotter and make everything point to > /usr/local/trotter directory (which exists from an earlier installation). > > I haven't actually tried this, but am just wondering. > > Isn't it is a better option to allow for a home directory to be chosen at > installation? I have never figured out why Fedora does not allow this choice > (with a default). > > Trotter > > > > > > > -- > fedora-list mailing list > fedora-list@redhat.com > To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list > Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines > -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: how to get username use another home directory
On Fri, 2009-01-16 at 12:54 -0500, Todd Zullinger wrote: > Globe Trotter wrote: > > I usually keep the userspace in another partition, /usr/local (let > > us say /usr/local/trotter. > > I'm curious, why not just have /home be on a different partition? > That seems more elegant to me (and would work better with SELinux as > well, though you might not care if you disable SELinux or run in > permissive mode :). > > > Previously, I would add skip the create user step and log in as root > > and then create user with directory using system-config-users. > > However, this is apparently no longer allowed, and I am required to > > create an user. How do I get this user to have its "home" in > > /usr/local/trotter? I guess one way out is to create a fake user and > > then go in, use system-config-users and then delete the fake user. > > Is there a more elegant way? > > This is the sort of task I'd do from a text console (but then, I say > that sort of thing a lot ;). If you create the user trotter at first > boot, use CTRL-ALT-F2 at the login screen to get to a console. Then > login as root and use something like: > > # usermod -m --home /usr/local/trotter trotter > > The -m option moves the current home dir to the new dir. Obviously, > you don't want trotter logged in when you do this. > One other thing to mention is that /usr is a system directory. As such its permissions are a bit touchy, and putting user files there can produce unintended consequences. I would have great reservations about this due to unexpected interactions of things such as backups, access to certain system files (through /usr/bin and /usr/sbin) for example, especially with multiple users on the system. By convention, many applications expect /home to contain user directories, and while if coding standards are followed, the shell variable $HOME will point to the correct directory, in some cases poorly written or experimental code is sometimes not so clean. Regards, Les H -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
Re: how to get username use another home directory
Globe Trotter wrote: > Thanks! I wonder that myself, sometimes, but it is for historical > reasons. In the days that there was no rpms, I used to keep locally > installed programs there and did not want it wiped out with every > new tinkering. I still use some of them, but all options are set to > use /usr/local/trotter, etc. >> # usermod -m --home /usr/local/trotter trotter >> >> The -m option moves the current home dir to the new dir. >> Obviously, you don't want trotter logged in when you do this. > > Thanks! However, does it not wipe out the /usr/local/trotter > directory. I just want to get rid of the /home/trotter and make > everything point to /usr/local/trotter directory (which exists from > an earlier installation). > > I haven't actually tried this, but am just wondering. I would guess that it would, in which case you'd want to omit the -m option. But I can't say that I've tried this anytime in recent memory. > Isn't it is a better option to allow for a home directory to be > chosen at installation? I have never figured out why Fedora does not > allow this choice (with a default). I suppose it is very uncommon for folks wanting to change the location of /home. Usually you would just make /home a separate partition to achieve this (and may very well do the same for /usr/local). Those options are available in the installer, of course. If you wanted to make useradd and system-config-users default to a different location for user home dirs, you can do that as well by editing /etc/default/useradd and changing the HOME setting. That could be done via kickstart even. Basically, I think that what you want is generally outside of the majority of use cases. And when you're in that position, you sometimes have to do a little tinkering on your own. :) -- ToddOpenPGP -> KeyID: 0xBEAF0CE3 | URL: www.pobox.com/~tmz/pgp ~~ Happiness is good health and a bad memory. -- Ingrid Bergman (1917-1982) pgpn9scM3lBtB.pgp Description: PGP signature -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@redhat.com To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
