User accounts on a Linux system that are no longer being used should be removed. This is better for security, and you don’t want your computer or server convoluted with unused accounts.
In this guide, we’ll go over the step by step instructions to delete a user via Linux command line.
Remove a User in Linux
The userdel command is used to delete a user account in Linux. Simply specify the name of the user after your command. Note that this will require root privileges.
$ sudo userdel james
To remove the user’s home directory at the same time, add the -r option to your command.
$ sudo userdel -r james
Use the -f option to force remove the files in the home directory, even if they’re not owned by the user.
$ sudo userdel -r -f james
Used by Process Error Message
The userdel command won’t work if there are processes running under the account. You will receive an error like the one below.
userdel: user james is currently used by process 20160
If you receive this message, you can use the kill command to terminate all the processes running under the user.
$ killall -u james
Stubborn processes can be forcefully closed with the -9 option.
$ killall -9 -u james
Alternatively, use the -f option to force user deletion. This is a last resort and should be used sparingly.
$ userdel -f james