Short, simple command to create a group if it doesn't already exist?

Question

What is the cleanest way to modify this command in bash to only run if the group does not exist?

groupadd somegroupname

A one-liner would be best.

glenn jackman · Accepted Answer · 2014-07-18 19:36:39Z

46

getent group somegroupname || groupadd somegroupname

answered Jul 18, 2014 at 19:36

glenn jackman

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4

Thanks. In case it helps anyone, this slight modification avoids printing output from the first command: [ $(getent group somegroupname) ] || groupadd somegroupname
– Oleg Pryadko
Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 20:06
2

Or just redirect it's output to /dev/null
– glenn jackman
Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 20:11

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ram4nd · Accepted Answer · 2018-08-27 08:03:33Z

15

With force it exits successfully if the group already exists, and cancels -g if the GID is already used.

groupadd -f somegroupname

answered Aug 27, 2018 at 8:03

ram4nd

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