I need to add a new user via the command line in single-user mode. I reinstalled OS X earlier, and for some reason, it didn't create my user account properly. Now I can't log in. So I'm wondering how exactly I can go about creating a new user account without reinstalling everything.
I tried this, but it didn't work: http://osxdaily.com/2007/10/29/how-to-add-a-user-from-the-os-x-command-line-works-with-leopard/
Thanks in advance.
Perhaps try:
sudo useradd -n newuser
This works under BSD, no idea if it works under MacOS X but worth a shot.
Edit: Wow... How fail is MaxOSX at account creation!
sudo useradd -n newuser
vs
sudo niutil -create / /users/newuser
sudo niutil -createprop / /users/newuser uid 502
sudo niutil -createprop / /users/newuser gid 502
sudo niutil -createprop / /users/newuser realname "Longer Name"
sudo niutil -createprop / /users/newuser home "/Users/newuser "
sudo niutil -createprop / /users/newuser shell "/bin/tcsh"
sudo niutil -createprop / /users/sharedDir shell "Public"
sudo niutil -createprop / /users/newuser passwd "*"
sudo passwd newuser
sudo ditto /System/Library/User\ Template/English.lproj /Users/newuser
sudo chown -R newuser :group /Users/newuser
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
...and then reboot normally. With that file gone, OS X launches its first-run Setup Assistant and (among other things) lets you create a new account.
BTW, the reason niutil isn't there has nothing to do with whether it's a server or not -- it's because Apple got rid of NetInfo (its old database for storing local users) in 10.5, and replaced it with a new XML-based system. If you want to do niutil-ish things in 10.5, you can either use dscl (this is actually a bit complicated in single-user mode because directory services aren't running) or create/edit the XML files by hand.
Seems like if it didn't create your user account correctly you probably need to reinstall again in case other things didn't get set up correctly.