In this blog post, we will explore the su
command in Linux, which allows you to switch the shell to another user. This can be particularly useful when you need to perform certain tasks or access files associated with a different user account.
Let’s say you are currently logged in as the root
user and you want to switch to another user account. You can use the following syntax to achieve that:
su <username>
For example, if you want to switch to the user account named flavio
, you would enter the command su flavio
.
When you execute the su
command without specifying a username, it assumes that you want to switch to the root
user. In this case, it will prompt you to enter the password for the root
user.
Once you enter the correct password, su
will start a new shell as the specified user. You can now perform actions, access files, and execute commands as if you were logged in as that user.
To return to your original user account, simply type exit
in the shell. This will close the shell associated with the switched user and bring you back to your current user’s shell.
It’s worth noting that the su
command works on Linux systems. However, on macOS, you will need to enable the root user in order to use it. As an alternative, you can use the sudo
command to execute commands with root privileges.
In summary, the su
command is a powerful tool that allows you to switch the shell to another user in Linux. It provides a convenient way to perform tasks or access files associated with different user accounts.
Tags: Linux command, su, user account, shell, root user, sudo