useradd: cannot lock /etc/passwd; try again later

Question

Trying to add a user:

useradd -c "test" -d /home/bbbbbbbb -e "01-jan-2013" 
  -f 10 -g admin -p secretfgjdhdgd -s /bin/bash -u 123456 blobblob

but getting:

useradd: cannot lock /etc/passwd; try again later.

Solution

You need to run useradd with root privileges, for example by using sudo:

sudo -- useradd -c "test" -d /home/bbbbbbbb -e "01-jan-2013" -f 10 -g admin -p secretfgjdhdgd -s /bin/bash -u 123456 blobblob

Comments

[geirha]

note that useradd's -p expects an encrypted password. Consider using newusers instead.