Linux sudo Command

The sudo command in Linux stands for "superuser do" or "substitute user do." It allows users to execute commands with elevated privileges, typically as the root user or any other user with administrative rights. The sudo command is commonly used in Linux systems to perform tasks that require administrative permissions.

When a user executes a command with sudo, they are prompted to enter their own password (not the root password) to verify their identity. Once the user's identity is confirmed, the system checks if the user has the necessary privileges to execute the command. If the user is authorized, the command is executed with the elevated privileges, otherwise, an error message is displayed.

The basic syntax for using sudo is as follows:

sudo [command]

For example, to install a package using the apt package manager, you can run:

sudo apt install [package-name]

The sudo command can also be used to execute a command as a different user. By default, if no specific user is specified, it runs the command as the root user.

To execute a command as a different user, you can use the following syntax:

sudo -u [username] [command]

For instance, to list the contents of a directory as the user “john,” you can use: