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This article describes how to give a user sudo access to provide higher-level access, usually restricted only to the root user. A user with sudo access can be limited to only certain commands or can be given full access just like the root user, but without having to give out your root password.

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How do I give a user sudo access?

  1. SSH into your VPS. For Self Managed VPSs, the SSH port is 2222.
  2. If you haven’t already, create a user using the following command (change “vipsupport” to whichever username you like): 
    # useradd vipsupport
  3. Set a password for the newly created user: 
    # passwd vipsupport  
Changing password for user vipsupport.  
New password:  
Retype new password:  
passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.
  4. This user can now SSH into your VPS with the password you just set; however, they will not have any root user privileges. To add these, open the /etc/sudoers file by running the command: 
    # visudo
  5. Scroll to the bottom of this file and add the user you just created.
    • To give this user full root permissions, add the following line: 
      vipsupport ALL=(ALL) ALL
    • To limit the user to only certain commands, for example “mount” or “su - root”: 
      vipsupport ALL=(ALL) /usr/bin/mount
  6. To exit the visudo editor, type: <escape> :wq <enter>
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