Linux Users and Groups

Question

When I do cat /etc/passwd I see multiple users but when I type in ls -l /home I can see only two users in it.

How to check the issue.

You may find this helpful: What's the difference between a normal user and a system user? — steeldriver
– steeldriver, Commented Jan 18, 2024 at 5:22
Can you also see those user's home directories in the output of cat /etc/passwd? — muru
– muru, Commented Jan 18, 2024 at 5:25
Not all users have home directories inside /home. Also, users do not have to come from /etc/passwd. If you provide some context as to what you are attempting to achieve, we may be able to provide some solutions. — GracefulRestart
– GracefulRestart, Commented Jan 18, 2024 at 6:03

symcbean · Accepted Answer · 2024-01-18 11:06:38Z

The second last field in /etc/passwd is the users home directory - this can be elsewhere
Root's home directory is usually in /root (because root needs to be able to access when stuff is broken and /home may be on a different drive)
as per comments, system accounts should NOT have a home directory in /home - they are subject to different security rules and perform different functions than human beings.
I have seen instances where a system account has their home dir configured as /home but no directory exists (e.g. syslog on WSL Ubuntu). That's not an issue because this user never logs in / never has interactive sessions
Its quite possible to provision a (normal) user account without creating the home directory at the same time.....but have the home directory created the first time the user logs in - this is does with a PAM module.

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