Category: Linux

Articles related to installing and managing Linux distros.

How to Count the Number of Users on a Linux OS from the /etc/passwd File

Determining the Number of Users and Their Types in /etc/passwd on a Linux Server

1. Count the Total Number of Users:

Each line in the /etc/passwd file represents a different user. You can count the total number of users by counting the number of lines in the file using the following command:

wc -l /etc/passwd

This command will return the number of lines (and thus users) in the file.

2. Determine the Types of Users:

The types of users are generally categorized into:

  • System users: Typically have a UID (User ID) less than 1000 (on most systems).
  • Regular users: Typically have a UID greater than or equal to 1000 (on most systems).

List Users by Type:

  • List all system users:
  • Count system users:
  • List all regular users:
  • Count regular users:

3. Understand the User Types by Their UIDs:

  • UID 0: This is the root user, the superuser with full access.
  • UIDs 1-99: Typically reserved for system daemons and services.
  • UIDs 100-999: Used for system users (non-human users that are used by system processes).
  • UIDs 1000+: Regular users created by the system administrator.
Example etc/passwd file