.. /*  
    * This file is part of the SavaPage project <https://www.savapage.org>.
    * Copyright (c) 2026 Datraverse B.V.
    * Author: Rijk Ravestein.
    *
    * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: (c) 2020 Datraverse B.V. <info@datraverse.com>
    * SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-SA-4.0
    *
    * For more information, please contact Datraverse B.V. at this
    * address: info@datraverse.com
    */


.. _ch-install-create-user-account:

Step 2 - Create System Account
------------------------------

SavaPage runs and installs under a system user account called ``savapage``.
This account is fixed, you cannot choose another name. You are free
though to pick a location for the application. However, GNU/Linux
Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) dictates that the application is
installed in the ``/opt/savapage`` directory.

Create the system user account at the command prompt by entering:

.. code-block:: bash

   sudo useradd -r savapage

The syntax for ``useradd`` may differ slightly on different versions of
GNU/Linux. It may also be called ``adduser``.

Next, create the install directory and set the ownership to the ``savapage``
account:

.. code-block:: bash

   sudo mkdir -p /opt/savapage

... and set the ownership to the savapage account. For Debian
and RHEL based systems:

.. code-block:: bash

   sudo chown savapage:savapage /opt/savapage

... and for openSUSE:

.. code-block:: bash

   sudo chown savapage:users /opt/savapage

For convenience, set the login shell and login directory:

.. code-block:: bash

   sudo usermod -s /bin/bash savapage
   sudo usermod -d /opt/savapage savapage

Some GNU/Linux distributions impose strict resource usage limits on
user accounts (``ulimit``). The ``savapage`` account is a dedicated account used
for hosting the SavaPage application and hence should be granted
sufficient resource limits such as the ability to open many files.
Please consult :ref:`Linux User Limits <ch-tuning-ulimit>` on how to
change these limits.