When logged in as user root, making a
single mistake can damage or destroy a system. Therefore, the
packages in the next two chapters are built as an unprivileged user.
You could use your own user name, but to make it easier to set up a
clean working environment, we will create a new user called
zlfs as a member of a
new group (also named zlfs) and run commands as
zlfs during the installation process.
As root, issue the following commands
to add the new user:
groupadd zlfs useradd -s /bin/bash -g zlfs -m -k /dev/null zlfs
This is what the command line options mean:
-
-s /bin/bash -
This makes bash the default shell for user
zlfs. -
-gzlfs -
This option adds user
zlfsto groupzlfs. -
-m -
This creates a home directory for
zlfs. -
-k /dev/null -
This parameter prevents possible copying of files from a skeleton directory (the default is
/etc/skel) by changing the input location to the special null device. -
zlfs -
This is the name of the new user.
If you want to log in as zlfs or
switch to zlfs from a
non-root user (as opposed to
switching to user zlfs when logged in
as root, which does not require the
zlfs user to have a password), you
need to set a password for zlfs.
Issue the following command as the root user to set the password:
passwd zlfs
Grant zlfs full access to all the
directories under $LFS by making
zlfs the owner:
chown -v zlfs $LFS/{usr{,/*},var,etc,tools,zbuild}
![[Note]](../images/note.png)
Note
In some host systems, the following su command does not complete
properly and suspends the login for the zlfs user to the background. If the prompt
"zlfs:~$" does not appear immediately, entering the fg command will fix the issue.
Next, start a shell running as user zlfs. This can be done by logging in as
zlfs on a virtual console, or with
the following substitute/switch user command:
su - zlfs
The “-” instructs su to start a login shell as
opposed to a non-login shell. The difference between these two types
of shells is described in detail in bash(1) and info bash.