ubuntu server: login with new created user > get dollar shell

Question

when I create a new user in Ubuntu Server and then try to login with the new user I get an error message.

In one case Ubuntu tells me that the home directory of the user doesn't exist when I login and Ubuntu then shows me a dollar shell. In the other case, when I create a home folder for the user, Ubuntu just shows me a dollar shell when I log in with the user.

I use: useradd NAME. I thought the home directory was automatically created when creating a user.

Can anyone help me?

Answer 1

The command to have useradd create a home is

sudo useradd -d /home/user -m user

Where user (2 times) is your account name.

(The files in the new home directory are copied from the /etc/skel folder)

Answer 2

You can create a home directory by adding the -d flag.

  -d, --home HOME_DIR
           The new user will be created using HOME_DIR as the value for the
           user's login directory. The default is to append the LOGIN name to
           BASE_DIR and use that as the login directory name. The directory
           HOME_DIR does not have to exist but will not be created if it is
           missing.

The $ in the terminal indicates that you are not using the bash shell, where you are familiar with I guess. When creating a home dir I guess the problem is over. Otherwise you can switch change to bash with which bash.