sudo

Run a command as root

$ sudo [command]

$ sudo -u [username] [command]

$ sudo -i

$ sudo -u [username] -s

$ sudo -E [command]

$ sudo -e [/etc/hosts]

$ sudo -l

$ sudo -k

$ sudo -b [command]

sudo [options] [command]
sudo -u user [command]
sudo -i | -s

sudo (superuser do) executes commands with elevated privileges, typically as root. It provides controlled access to privileged operations based on rules defined in /etc/sudoers, allowing fine-grained permission management.
After successful authentication, sudo caches credentials for a grace period (typically 5 minutes), allowing subsequent commands without re-entering the password. Use -k to invalidate this cache.
The sudoers file controls who can run what commands on which hosts. Users can be granted full root access or restricted to specific commands. The visudo command should be used to edit sudoers safely.

-u USER, --user USER

Run command as specified user (default: root)

Run command with specified primary group

Run login shell as target user

Run shell (from $SHELL or user's default)

Edit files (sudoedit mode)

Preserve user's environment variables

Set HOME to target user's home directory

Run command in background

List allowed commands for user

Refresh credential cache without running command

Invalidate cached credentials

Remove cached credentials entirely

Non-interactive mode; fail if password required

Use askpass helper for password

Read password from stdin

Custom password prompt

Command timeout in seconds

Display version information

Running commands as root is dangerous—mistakes can damage the system. The -E flag can expose sensitive environment variables. Some environment variables are filtered by default for security. Incorrect sudoers syntax can lock out administrative access; always use visudo to edit. Avoid using sudo in scripts that might be run by untrusted users.

sudo was originally written by Bob Coggeshall and Cliff Spencer at SUNY Buffalo around 1980. Todd Miller took over maintenance in 1994 and continues to lead development. The name is commonly understood as "superuser do" though it originally stood for "substitute user do" since it can run commands as any user. sudo has become the standard method for privilege escalation on Unix-like systems, replacing direct root login in most distributions.

su(1), visudo(8), sudoers(5), doas(1)