[Adduser-devel] Bug#460895: adduser: --group --gid documented, but not permitted by software

[Jonathan Amery]

Package: adduser
Version: 3.102
Severity: normal

Hi,

 The adduser manpage says:

   Add a user group
       If adduser is called with the --group option and without  the  --system
       option, or addgroup is called respectively, a user group will be added.

       A GID will be chosen from the range specified for user UIDS in the con-
       figuration file.  The GID can be overridden with the --gid option.

       The group is created with no users.

 but if you actually try this then you get:

jadzia:~# adduser --group --gid 1234 fred
adduser: The --group, --ingroup, and --gid options are mutually exclusive.
jadzia:~# 

 Please fix the code to match the documentation, which is the correct 
behaviour.

-- System Information:
Debian Release: 4.0
  APT prefers stable
  APT policy: (700, 'stable'), (650, 'testing'), (625, 'unstable'), (600, 'dapper'), (500, 'dapper-updates')
Architecture: i386 (i686)
Shell:  /bin/sh linked to /bin/bash
Kernel: Linux 2.6.18-4-686
Locale: LANG=en_GB.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_GB.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)

Versions of packages adduser depends on:
ii  debconf [debconf-2.0]       1.5.11etch1  Debian configuration management sy
ii  passwd                      1:4.0.18.1-7 change and administer password and
ii  perl-base                   5.8.8-7etch1 The Pathologically Eclectic Rubbis

adduser recommends no packages.

-- debconf information:
  adduser/homedir-permission: true