<sect1 id="ch05-addinguser">
<title>Adding the user lfs</title>
<?dbhtml filename="addinguser.html" dir="chapter05"?>

<para>If you are logged in as <emphasis>root</emphasis> during Chapter 5,
your host system can be damaged by a single mistake. We recommend that
you build the packages in Chapter 5 as an unprivileged user. You could use
your own user name, but to ensure a clean build environment, we'll create a
new user: <emphasis>lfs</emphasis>. As <emphasis>root</emphasis>, issue
the following commands to add the new user:</para>

<para><screen><userinput>useradd -s /bin/bash -m lfs
passwd lfs</userinput></screen></para>

<para>In order to grant ownership of the <filename>$LFS/static</filename>
directory to the user <emphasis>lfs</emphasis>, issue the command:</para>

<para><screen><userinput>chown lfs $LFS/static</userinput></screen></para>

<para>Next, login as user <emphasis>lfs</emphasis>. This can be accomplished
via a virtual console, display manager or with the substitute user
command:</para>

<para><screen><userinput>su - lfs</userinput></screen></para>

<para>The "<userinput>-</userinput>" instructs <userinput>su</userinput> to
start a new, clean shell.</para>

</sect1>