Fedora CoreOS: how can I add a user to dialout group?
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## Problem
Context: Fedora CoreOS operating system (read-only root filesystem).
I'm trying to add
myuser
to group dialout
so I can access /dev/ttyS1
via its group owner. However, during first boot, Ignition phase keeps failing.
**Questions**:
- How can I add a custom user to group dialout
?
- How is it possible that it fails with the 2 error messages below ("group doesn't exist" and "group already exists")?
Docs reference: [Fedora CoreOS Docs | Configuring Groups](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora-coreos/authentication/#_configuring_groups)
## What I tried
### Adding User to Group
It fails with message _**"useradd: group 'dialout' does not exist\n"**_.
Butane config:
variant: fcos
version: 1.6.0
passwd:
users:
- name: myuser
# Password: mypassword
password_hash: "$y$j9T$tZyPwp1NEbj9P6WAv.F720$Rj9PJnLqoTph5k2Qd5hAPLF6Evsp9TEgCz5ZkmwMHT4"
groups:
- sudo
- dialout
home_dir: /home/myuser
shell: /bin/bash
uid: 1001
Ignition config:
{
"ignition": {
"version": "3.5.0"
},
"passwd": {
"users": [
{
"groups": [
"sudo",
"dialout"
],
"homeDir": "/home/myuser",
"name": "myuser",
"passwordHash": "$y$j9T$tZyPwp1NEbj9P6WAv.F720$Rj9PJnLqoTph5k2Qd5hAPLF6Evsp9TEgCz5ZkmwMHT4",
"shell": "/bin/bash",
"uid": 1001
}
]
}
}
Logs (journalctl
):
-none
...
ignition: files: ensureUsers: op(2): [started] creating or modifying user "myuser"
ignition: files: ensureUsers: op(2): executing: "useradd" "--root" "/sysroot" "--home-dir" "/home/myuser" "--create-home" "--password" "$y$j9T$tZyPwp1NEbj9P6WAv.F720$Rj9PJnLqoTph5k2Qd5hAPLF6Evsp9TEgCz5ZkmwMHT4" "--uid" "1001" "--groups" "sudo,dialout" "--shell" "/bin/bash" "myuser"
ignition: files: ensureUsers: op(2): [failed] creating or modifying user "myuser": exit status 6: Cmd: "useradd" "--root" "/sysroot" "--home-dir" "/home/myuser" "--create-home" "--password" "$y$j9T$tZyPwp1NEbj9P6WAv.F720$Rj9PJnLqoTph5k2Qd5hAPLF6Evsp9TEgCz5ZkmwMHT4" "--uid" "1001" "--groups" "sudo,dialout" "--shell" "/bin/bash" "myuser" Stdout: "" Stderr: "useradd: group 'dialout' does not exist\n"
systemd: ignition-files.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
...
systemd: ignition-files.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
### Creating Group AND Adding User to Group
This time it fails with message _**"groupadd: group 'dialout' already exists\n"**_.
Butane config:
variant: fcos
version: 1.6.0
passwd:
groups:
- name: dialout
gid: 18 # Standard dialout GID
users:
- name: myuser
# Password: mypassword
password_hash: "$y$j9T$tZyPwp1NEbj9P6WAv.F720$Rj9PJnLqoTph5k2Qd5hAPLF6Evsp9TEgCz5ZkmwMHT4"
groups:
- sudo
- dialout
home_dir: /home/myuser
shell: /bin/bash
uid: 1001
Ignition config:
{
"ignition": {
"version": "3.5.0"
},
"passwd": {
"groups": [
{
"gid": 18,
"name": "dialout"
}
],
"users": [
{
"groups": [
"sudo",
"dialout"
],
"homeDir": "/home/myuser",
"name": "myuser",
"passwordHash": "$y$j9T$tZyPwp1NEbj9P6WAv.F720$Rj9PJnLqoTph5k2Qd5hAPLF6Evsp9TEgCz5ZkmwMHT4",
"shell": "/bin/bash",
"uid": 1001
}
]
}
}
Logs (journalctl
):
-none
ignition: files: ensureGroups: op(1): [started] adding group "dialout"
ignition: files: ensureGroups: op(1): executing: "groupadd" "--root" "/sysroot" "--gid" "18" "--password" "*" "dialout"
ignition: files: ensureGroups: op(1): [failed] adding group "dialout": exit status 9: Cmd "groupadd" "--root" "/sysroot" "--gid" "18" "--password" "*" "dialout" Stdout: "" Stderr: "groupadd: group 'dialout' already exists\n"
...
systemd: ignition-files.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
systemd: ignition-files.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
systemd: Failed to start ignition-files.service - Ignition (files).
Asked by mikyll98
(121 rep)
May 15, 2025, 12:55 PM
Last activity: Jul 3, 2025, 02:47 PM
Last activity: Jul 3, 2025, 02:47 PM