userdel

The userdel command deletes a user login from the system by modifying the appropriate login related files. The userdel command requires the login argument. login is the name to be deleted, specified as a string of printable characters. It may not contain a colon (:) or a newline (n).

Options:
* -r: The home directory of login is removed from the system. This directory must exist. Following the successful execution of this command, none of the files and directories under the home directory will be available. If a user is deleted and the home directory is shared by others, then this directory is not deleted even with the -r option.
* NIS: This command is aware of NIS user and group entries. Only local users and groups may be deleted or modified with this command. Attempts to delete or modify NIS users or groups will result in an error. NIS users and groups must be administered from the NIS server.

Return Values:

* -0 Successful completion.
* -2 Invalid command syntax.
* -3 Invalid argument supplied to an option.
* -6 The login to be removed does not exist.
* -8 The login to be removed is in use.
* -10 Cannot modify the /etc/group file, but the login was removed from the /etc/passwd file.
* -12 Unable to remove or modify the home directory.
* -13 Unable to open /etc/ptmp file or /etc/passwd file is non-existent.
* -14 /etc/passwd file or /etc/ptmp file busy. Another command may be modifying the /etc/passwd file.
* -17 Cannot delete entry from /etc/passwd file.
Posted on May 31st, 2014

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