Why useradd -m doesn't fill created home dir with some defaults?

Question

My motives:

I want to create deployment script which prepare all system with just 1 click, and although learn Linux this way. So I don't want to use interactive utils like adduser (all interaction info I put in some settings.txt).

My system:

Debian 8.2 (jessie)

I want:

Create user account with home directory and default folders inside. Like adduser do but with useradd.

My problem:

There is paragraph in man userradd:

   -m, --create-home
       Create the user's home directory if it does not exist. The files and directories contained in the
       skeleton directory (which can be defined with the -k option) will be copied to the home directory.

I looked in /etc/adduser.conf to find the value of SKEL variable for adduser. And it is /etc/skel.

But after I run some useradd -m myuser -k /etc/skel, I've got empty /home/myuser directory.

Update 1

After I created some additional file, it alsought copied to the new user home directory (with 3 hidden files). So it means that /etc/skel doesn't impact on such folders as: Desktop, Downloads, etc. But in this case what does?

Solution 1

When a new home directory is created by adduser or useradd, the home directory is populated with the contents of /etc/skel (the "skeletal home directory", see man adduser and/or man useradd). This directory contains the initial dot-files, like .bashrc etc., that all users get. The Desktop etc. directories are usually not part of the contents of she skeletal home directory since a user may not even want to run a desktop environment (or one that uses those directories).

These directories are created when the user logs in and starts a graphical desktop environment.

Would you want these extra directories (or any other file or directory) to be part of the skeletal home directory, then create them in /etc/skel, assuming the user's graphical desktop environment does not have issues with these directories already existing (I don't use Linux-like desktops, so I don't know).

Solution 2

For me , by default, the /etc/skel contains just 3 hidden files, .bash_logout , .bashrc and .profile, which can be displayed with ls -a.
Your command should work, have you checked the content of your /etc/skel directory ?

Comments

[smw]

The directories you are referring to are part of the xdg-user-dirs I think, and are specific to "desktop" environments: IIRC they are created by the system when the user first instantiates an appropriate Xsession, based on the templates in /etc/xdg/user-dirs.defaults

[Alex Silkovsky]

I although found 3 hidden files inside /etc/skel. (post updated)

[magor]

You have to create the folders/files in /etc/skel . For example, I created /etc/skel/Desktop/test.sh and for the new user, the folder /home/myuser/Desktop was created containing the test.sh file .