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Revision 25 as of 2013-07-28 04:57:09
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Comment: Add simplified Chinese translation
Revision 27 as of 2015-10-16 13:36:03
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Editor: vauss
Comment: link to "System tips" is dead, added an alternative way to recover the forgotten root password
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 * If you forgot your password, read [[http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/reference/ch-tips#s-crackroot|"I forgot the root password!"]]  * If you forgot your root password, you first need to [[https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-reference/ch04.en.html#_securing_the_root_password|reset the password]], then log as root (now accessible without password) and run {{{passwd}}} to set a new password.
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[[CategoryRoot]]

Translation(s): English - Español - Français - العربية - Italiano - Русский - Svenska - 简体中文

(!) ?Discussion


Root is the name of the most powerful account on a Debian installation. The root user account can do everything on the machine. Root is also known as supervisor and administrator. Root's home (~) folder is /root.

root has uid 0 and gid 0.

Password

At installation time, you are asked whether you want to use the root account or not.

  • If you want to (the default), you'll be asked to provide a complex password for root. Use a strong one!

  • If not, no root account is enabled and the password of the first user created will be used for administration tasks.
  • If you forgot your root password, you first need to reset the password, then log as root (now accessible without password) and run passwd to set a new password.

How to use root level access as a normal user

  • Under Gnome : in Gnome Application Menu/Accessories/Root Terminal
  • From console : read Debian Reference's Login to a shell prompt as root

  • In a terminal : you can use su (or gksu) to change your identity to root.
    However, it's recommended to configure and use sudo (or gksudo) to run a given command.

When you change from a normal user to root, your prompt will change from user@mypc:~$ to root@mypc:/home/user# .
To find out as which user you're operating now, execute the command whoami.

CategoryRoot