Linux: Adding multiple users in batch

This ought to make peoples lives a whole lot easier. This little tip was posted in the comp.os.linux.misc newsgroup on/about 17 Aug 2000 by Peter Herttrich of Denmark.

Standard problem: How to add hundreds of users with passwords without having to issue password for every single user. The standard answer for the major OSs is to use an expect script or write something in perl. Bit of a pain. Along comes Linux with the /usr/sbin/newusers program.

The command takes a file that contains passwd file formatted entries for each user. The man page is a little vague on the format for the file. So, an example of the users file is included:

test1:3biteme:600:100:testing:/home/test1:/bin/bash

test2:3biteme:601:100:testing:/home/test2:/bin/bash

test3:3biteme:602:100:testing:/home/test3:/bin/bash

test4:3biteme:603:100:testing:/home/test4:/bin/bash

test5:3biteme:604:100:testing:/home/test5:/bin/bash

test6:3biteme:605:100:testing:/home/test6:/bin/bash

test7:3biteme:606:100:testing:/home/test7:/bin/bash

test8:3biteme:607:100:testing:/home/test8:/bin/bash

test9:3biteme:608:100:testing:/home/test9:/bin/bash

test10:3biteme:609:100:testing:/home/test10:/bin/bash

test11:3biteme:610:100:testing:/home/test11:/bin/bash

test12:3biteme:611:100:testing:/home/test12:/bin/bash

test13:3biteme:612:100:testing:/home/test13:/bin/bash

test14:3biteme:613:100:testing:/home/test14:/bin/bash

test15:3biteme:614:100:testing:/home/test15:/bin/bash

Remember to keep the passwords in the clear and the user file @ 600 permissions.

The program's damned fast too; I added 50 test users on a Pentium 200 in under 1 second. The only issue is that it doesn't automatically copy the /etc/skel/* files into the new users' home directories. Oh, well; can't have everything...