groupdel

Additional Notes

groupdel removes a local group. It deletes the group entry, but it does not automatically change files that were owned by that group ID.

Do not remove a group that is still used as a primary group for an existing user.

Syntax

groupdel group

Parameters

• options: Flags that change how groupdel behaves.
• user: User account affected by the command.
• group: Group account affected by the command.
• file: File or directory whose ownership, mode, or access policy is being changed.

Examples

sudo groupdel oldgroup

Delete a group.

getent group oldgroup

Check whether the group still exists.

find / -nogroup -ls 2>/dev/null

Find files with group IDs that no longer map to a group name.

Practical Notes

• Check users and files before deleting a group.
• Files owned by the removed GID may show a number instead of a group name.
• Use chgrp to move files to another group before deletion when needed.