How can I go away from root user in ubuntu?

Question

I tried to type in 'exit' and tried cntrl+d too but they both just close the terminal. Why is this? Is there another way to move away from root user?

It sounds like you're asking How to change default user in WSL Ubuntu bash on Windows 10 — steeldriver, Aug 30 '20 at 21:55
That is indeed the same question, But if I type in this: 'ubuntu2004 config --default-user ' I get this returned: 'ubuntu2004: command not found' — Younes Boubker, Aug 30 '20 at 22:02
Are you typing it in the Ubuntu terminal? You need to type it in a Windows cmd.exe or PowerShell window — steeldriver, Aug 30 '20 at 22:15
Yes I was typing it in the ubuntu terminal. Now I typed it in cmd.exe and PowerShell window where I receive in both cases: /usr/bin/id: ‘younes’: no such user — Younes Boubker, Aug 30 '20 at 22:26
You will need to figure out your non-root username from inside Ubuntu ex. awk -F: '$3>999 && $3<65534' /etc/passwd (I don't think there's a way to list WSL usernames from the Windows side) — steeldriver, Aug 30 '20 at 23:34
Hi, I think I solved the problem by using useradd. After that I changed from root user to the other non root user by the following command: su - . Feel free to share your thoughts about this approach. Anyway, thanks for your time! — Younes Boubker, Aug 31 '20 at 16:42

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 30 '20 at 21:49

0

You can alway switch users with su. simply use

su <username>

answered Aug 30 '20 at 21:49

totalynotanoob

I see why it wasn't possible. I only have one account, which is the administrator account. Is this harmful/risky? – Younes Boubker Aug 30 '20 at 21:53
root and admin are NOT the same. always using root is however indeed not recommended since you might accidentialy break or change something, that you are not supposed to. if you need root privileges temporarily you should use sudo – totalynotanoob Aug 30 '20 at 21:56
if your username is something other than root, then it is not root but propably admin (capable of sudo and such but not everything) – totalynotanoob Aug 30 '20 at 21:58

1 Answers1