GROUPADD(8)		  System Management Commands		   GROUPADD(8)

NAME
       groupadd - create a new group

SYNOPSIS
       groupadd [OPTIONS] NEWGROUP

DESCRIPTION
       The groupadd command creates a new group account using the values
       specified on the command line plus the default values from the system.
       The new group will be entered into the system files as needed.

       Groupnames may contain only lower and upper case letters, digits,
       underscores, or dashes. They can end with a dollar sign. Dashes are not
       allowed at the beginning of the groupname. Fully numeric groupnames and
       groupnames . or .. are also disallowed.

       Groupnames may only be up to 32 characters long.

OPTIONS
       The options which apply to the groupadd command are:

       -f, --force
	   This option causes the command to simply exit with success status
	   if the specified group already exists. When used with -g, and the
	   specified GID already exists, another (unique) GID is chosen (i.e.
	   -g is turned off).

       -g, --gid GID
	   The numerical value of the group's ID.  GID must be unique, unless
	   the -o option is used. The value must be non-negative. The default
	   is to use the smallest ID value greater than or equal to GID_MIN
	   and greater than every other group.

	   See also the -r option and the GID_MAX description.

       -h, --help
	   Display help message and exit.

       -K, --key KEY=VALUE
	   Overrides /etc/login.defs defaults (GID_MIN, GID_MAX and others).
	   Multiple -K options can be specified.

	   Example: -K GID_MIN=100  -K GID_MAX=499

	   Note: -K GID_MIN=10,GID_MAX=499 doesn't work yet.

       -o, --non-unique
	   permits the creation of a group with an already used numerical ID.
	   As a result, for this GID, the mapping towards group NEWGROUP may
	   not be unique.

       -p, --password PASSWORD
	   defines an initial password for the group account. PASSWORD is
	   expected to be encrypted, as returned by crypt (3).

	   Without this option, the group account will be locked and with no
	   password defined, i.e. a single exclamation mark in the respective
	   field of ths system account file /etc/group or /etc/gshadow.

	   Note: This option is not recommended because the password (or
	   encrypted password) will be visible by users listing the processes.

	   You should make sure the password respects the system's password
	   policy.

       -r, --system
	   Create a system group.

	   The numeric identifiers of new system groups are chosen in the
	   SYS_GID_MIN-SYS_GID_MAX range, defined in login.defs, instead of
	   GID_MIN-GID_MAX.

       -R, --root CHROOT_DIR
	   Apply changes in the CHROOT_DIR directory and use the configuration
	   files from the CHROOT_DIR directory. Only absolute paths are
	   supported.

       -P, --prefix PREFIX_DIR
	   Apply changes to configuration files under the root filesystem
	   found under the directory PREFIX_DIR. This option does not chroot
	   and is intended for preparing a cross-compilation target. Some
	   limitations: NIS and LDAP users/groups are not verified. PAM
	   authentication is using the host files. No SELINUX support.

       -U, --users
	   A comma-separated list of usernames to add as members of the group.

	   The default behavior (if the -g, -N, and -U options are not
	   specified) is defined by the USERGROUPS_ENAB variable in
	   /etc/login.defs.

CONFIGURATION
       The following configuration variables in /etc/login.defs change the
       behavior of this tool:

       GID_MAX (number), GID_MIN (number)
	   Range of group IDs used for the creation of regular groups by
	   useradd, groupadd, or newusers.

	   The default value for GID_MIN (resp.	 GID_MAX) is 1000 (resp.
	   60000).

       MAX_MEMBERS_PER_GROUP (number)
	   Maximum members per group entry. When the maximum is reached, a new
	   group entry (line) is started in /etc/group (with the same name,
	   same password, and same GID).

	   The default value is 0, meaning that there are no limits in the
	   number of members in a group.

	   This feature (split group) permits to limit the length of lines in
	   the group file. This is useful to make sure that lines for NIS
	   groups are not larger than 1024 characters.

	   If you need to enforce such limit, you can use 25.

	   Note: split groups may not be supported by all tools (even in the
	   Shadow toolsuite). You should not use this variable unless you
	   really need it.

       SYS_GID_MAX (number), SYS_GID_MIN (number)
	   Range of group IDs used for the creation of system groups by
	   useradd, groupadd, or newusers.

	   The default value for SYS_GID_MIN (resp.  SYS_GID_MAX) is 101
	   (resp.  GID_MIN-1).

FILES
       /etc/group
	   Group account information.

       /etc/gshadow
	   Secure group account information.

       /etc/login.defs
	   Shadow password suite configuration.

CAVEATS
       You may not add a NIS or LDAP group. This must be performed on the
       corresponding server.

       If the groupname already exists in an external group database such as
       NIS or LDAP, groupadd will deny the group creation request.

EXIT VALUES
       The groupadd command exits with the following values:

       0
	   success

       2
	   invalid command syntax

       3
	   invalid argument to option

       4
	   GID is already used (when called without -o)

       9
	   group name is already used

       10
	   can't update group file

SEE ALSO
       chfn(1), chsh(1), passwd(1), gpasswd(8), groupdel(8), groupmod(8),
       login.defs(5), useradd(8), userdel(8), usermod(8).

shadow-utils 4.18.0		  06/27/2025			   GROUPADD(8)