su (Unix)
Standard UNIX utility / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Unix command su, which stands for 'substitute user'[1][2] (or historically 'superuser'[3][4]), is used by a computer user to execute commands with the privileges of another user account. When executed it invokes a shell without changing the current working directory or the user environment.
Quick Facts Original author(s), Developer(s) ...
Original author(s) | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | AT&T Bell Laboratories |
Initial release | November 3, 1971; 52 years ago (1971-11-03) |
Operating system | Unix and Unix-like |
Type | Command |
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When the command is used without specifying the new user id as a command line argument, it defaults to using the superuser account (user id 0) of the system.