Linux: How to Change User in Terminal & GNOME

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Easy ways to change to another user in Linux
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The "su" command, which stands for "switch user" or "substitute user," makes it easy to change to another user in Linux. Or, if you just want to execute a command as another user without logging in as them, you can use "sudo," or "superuser do." Read on to learn how.

Things You Should Know

  • To become another user in Linux, use su - <username> .
  • To run commands as a different user, use sudo -u <username> <command> .
  • In the GNOME desktop environment, you can change users in the System menu > Power Off / Log Out > Switch User.
Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Using Su

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    Use this command to switch to another user at the command line. The "-" indicates that you want to log in as username and assume their environment variables, home directory, and shell preferences. [1] Once you enter their password, your prompt will change to that user's prompt.
    • If you want to change users without changing your shell, omit the hyphen. E.g., su username .
    • sudo – username is the same as sudo -l username and sudo --login username .
    • In some Linux distributions, ( not Ubuntu ), you can use su - (with no username specified) to become the root user . It's better to use sudo to execute root-level commands as needed instead of becoming the root user—you're far less likely to break things.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Using Sudo

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    Just like when you use sudo to run commands with root permissions, you can also use it to execute any command as another user. [2]
    • You'll need to enter the user's password to execute the command. If you don't know it, you can always change it using the passwd command.
Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Using GNOME

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    It's at the top-right corner of your desktop—where you'll see the network icon, volume, and battery.
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    This expands more options.
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    As long as you have at least one more user added to your Linux system, you'll see the Switch User option. [3]
    • When you switch users, the applications you were running will continue to run in the background.
    • You can easily switch back and forth between users as needed.
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      Tips

      • Run the whoami command to see which user you're logged in as.
        • If you use su to switch to another user, whoami will report the username you changed to.
        • If you used sudo to run a command as another user, you'll still see your regular login name with whoami .
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.redhat.com/sysadmin/difference-between-sudo-su
      2. ↑ https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/linux-security-cookbook/0596003919/ch05s03.html
      3. ↑ https://help.gnome.org/users/gnome-help/stable/shell-exit.html.en

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