User in Ubuntu and other Linux distributions can be created from graphical and command-line tools.

Ubuntu comes with GNOME as the default desktop environment, which provides an easy-to-use interface for creating a new user. The same interface is also available in other distributions with GNOME installed, such as Debian.

Steps to add new user in GNOME (Ubuntu and Debian):

  1. Open Settings from the Activities search.
  2. Click on Users from the sidebar menu.
  3. Click on the Unlock button on the top right of the screen.
  4. Enter your password to authenticate to the system and click on the Authenticate button.

    Your account must have Administrator privilege for this to work

  5. Click on the Add User button at the top right.
  6. Choose whether you want the user to be normal user or administrator.

    An administrator will have the capability to make system-wide changes such as to add a new user.

  7. Enter the full name and the username of the user.

    A Username will automatically be generated based on the entered Full Name but could be manually changed.

  8. Select whether to let the user set the password when the user first try to log in to the system or to manually set a password for the new user.
  9. Enter a complex-enough password on both textboxes till the Add button at the top right is enabled if you choose to manually set the password.

  10. Click on the Add button to add the user to the system.
  11. Your newly created user should now be listed among the existing users.

Guide compatibility:

Operating System
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus)
Ubuntu 16.10 (Yakkety Yak)
Ubuntu 17.04 (Zesty Zapus)
Ubuntu 17.10 (Artful Aardvark)
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver)
Ubuntu 18.10 (Cosmic Cuttlefish)
Ubuntu 19.04 (Disco Dingo)