This answer exists to list suggested improvements to the canonical answer to “How do I run a command as root”. Please add todo items here and remove them when done. Discuss the current contents and planned changes in the comments here or on the unix.se chat.

• sudo

  • Older versions of sudo didn't have -e or -i.

• su

  • Are there OS-dependent su options worth mentioning?
  • What variants use the wheel group?

• other programs

  • calife: give a usage example; website link; where is it found?
  • op: give a usage example; website link; where is it found?
  • super: give a usage example; website link; where is it found?
  • kstuss: give a usage example; is it in fact a wrapper around su?
  • beesu: give a usage example; website link

• Running X programs

  • There are frontends like gksu and gksudo that do everything automatically, but they're not available everywhere. Discuss the general case (there might already be something on unix.se or superuser).

• Editing files

  • briefly discuss vipw and friends on various OSes (e.g. mention OSes where the password database is generated by vipw and won't be updated if you just edit /etc/passwd)

• single user mode

  • Should we include a section on single user mode? How detailed should it be with regards to how to edit your kernel parameters via grub?

This answer exists to list suggested improvements to the canonical answer to “How do I run a command as root”. Please add todo items here and remove them when done. Discuss the current contents and planned changes in the comments here or on the unix.se chat.

• sudo

  • Older versions of sudo didn't have -e or -i.

• su

  • Are there OS-dependent su options worth mentioning?
  • What variants use the wheel group?

• other programs

  • calife: give a usage example; website link; where is it found?
  • op: give a usage example; website link; where is it found?
  • super: give a usage example; website link; where is it found?
  • kstuss: give a usage example; is it in fact a wrapper around su?
  • beesu: give a usage example; website link

• Running X programs

  • There are frontends like gksu and gksudo that do everything automatically, but they're not available everywhere. Discuss the general case (there might already be something on unix.se or superuser).

• Editing files

  • briefly discuss vipw and friends on various OSes (e.g. mention OSes where the password database is generated by vipw and won't be updated if you just edit /etc/passwd)

• single user mode

  • Should we include a section on single user mode? How detailed should it be with regards to how to edit your kernel parameters via grub?

This answer exists to list suggested improvements to the canonical answer to “How do I run a command as root”. Please add todo items here and remove them when done. Discuss the current contents and planned changes in the comments here or on the unix.se chat.

• sudo

  • Older versions of sudo didn't have -e or -i.

• su

  • Are there OS-dependent su options worth mentioning?
  • What variants use the wheel group?

• other programs

  • calife: give a usage example; website link; where is it found?
  • op: give a usage example; website link; where is it found?
  • super: give a usage example; website link; where is it found?
  • kstuss: give a usage example; is it in fact a wrapper around su?
  • beesu: give a usage example; website link

• Running X programs

  • There are frontends like gksu and gksudo that do everything automatically, but they're not available everywhere. Discuss the general case (there might already be something on unix.se or superuser).

• Editing files

  • briefly discuss vipw and friends on various OSes (e.g. mention OSes where the password database is generated by vipw and won't be updated if you just edit /etc/passwd)

This answer exists to list suggested improvements to the canonical answer to “How do I run a command as root”. Please add todo items here and remove them when done. Discuss the current contents and planned changes in the comments here or on the unix.se chat.

• sudo

  • Older versions of sudo didn't have -e or -i.

• su

  • Are there OS-dependent su options worth mentioning?
  • What variants use the wheel group?

• other programs

  • calife: give a usage example; website link; where is it found?
  • op: give a usage example; website link; where is it found?
  • super: give a usage example; website link; where is it found?
  • kstuss: give a usage example; is it in fact a wrapper around su?
  • beesu: give a usage example; website link

• Running X programs

  • There are frontends like gksu and gksudo that do everything automatically, but they're not available everywhere. Discuss the general case (there might already be something on unix.se or superuser).

• Editing files

  • briefly discuss vipw and friends on various OSes (e.g. mention OSes where the password database is generated by vipw and won't be updated if you just edit /etc/passwd)

• single user mode

  • Should we include a section on single user mode? How detailed should it be with regards to how to edit your kernel parameters via grub?