groupdel

Linux · Users and permissions · reference only

What it does

Deletes a group from the system. By default it refuses to delete a group that is some user's primary group.

Syntax

groupdel [opciones] grupo

Options and parameters

• grupo

  Name of the group to delete.

• -f

  Forces removal even if it is some user's primary group.

• -R DIR

  Applies the changes inside the given root directory (chroot).

• -h

  Shows help and exits.

Usage examples

• sudo groupdel devs

  Deletes the devs group.

• getent group devs

  If the group was deleted, it prints nothing.

• sudo groupdel -f antiguos

  Forces the removal of a group that is still some user's primary group.

Notes and common mistakes

• To delete a primary group, first change the user's group with usermod -g or delete the user.
• Files that belonged to the group keep an orphan GID.

Related commands

• addgroup
• adduser
• chgrp
• chmod
• chown
• delgroup