Efficient User Management with Bash Scripting.

Managing user accounts and their respective groups can be a daunting task, especially in a growing company. As a SysOps engineer, automating this process saves time and minimizes the risk of human error. In this article, we will walk you through a Bash script designed to streamline user and group management by reading input from a text file. This script will create users, assign them to groups, generate random passwords, and log all actions for audit purposes.

Script Overview

The script create_users.sh performs the following tasks:

• Read Input File: It reads a text file where each line contains a username and associated groups separated by a semicolon.
• Create Users and Groups: It creates users and their personal groups if they don’t already exist, and assigns users to additional groups as specified.
• Generate Passwords: It generates random passwords for the users and stores them securely.
• Log Actions: It logs all actions to /var/log/user_management.log.
• Secure Password Storage: It stores the generated passwords in /var/secure/user_passwords.csv with restricted permissions.

Detailed Breakdown

• Input Validation: The script starts by checking if an input file is provided as an argument. If not, it exits with a usage message.
• Log and Password Files: The script initializes log and password files, ensuring appropriate permissions for security and auditing.
• Password Generation: A function is defined to generate random passwords using OpenSSL.
• Processing Input File: The script reads each line from the input file, trimming any whitespace around usernames and groups.
• User and Group Management: For each user, it checks if the user already exists. If not, it creates the user and their home directory. It then creates a personal group for the user and adds the user to any additional groups specified in the input file.
• Password Assignment and Home Directory Permissions: The script generates a password for each user, updates the user’s password, and stores the credentials securely. It also sets the appropriate permissions for the user’s home directory to ensure privacy.

##Conclusion By automating user management tasks with a Bash script, you can significantly reduce administrative overhead and improve the security of your system. This script demonstrates a robust approach to handling user creation, group assignments, password management, and logging. For more insights and opportunities, explore the HNG Internship program and learn how it can help you advance your career. Additionally, if you want to hire skilled professionals, consider HNG’s hiring services for top-notch talent. This script and article exemplify how automation can enhance efficiency and security in system operations, making it an invaluable tool for SysOps engineers.