Understanding the difference between sudo and su | Linux Today
Infrastructure
SHARE
Facebook X Pinterest WhatsApp

Understanding the difference between sudo and su

Written By
HA
Himanshu Arora
Feb 17, 2017

In this article, we will discuss in detail the ‘su’ command as well as how it differs from the ‘sudo’ command. The main work of the su command is to let you switch to some other user during a login session. In other words, the tool lets you assume the identity of some other user without having to logout and then login (as that user).
HA

Himanshu Arora

Linux Today Logo

LinuxToday is a trusted, contributor-driven news resource supporting all types of Linux users. Our thriving international community engages with us through social media and frequent content contributions aimed at solving problems ranging from personal computing to enterprise-level IT operations. LinuxToday serves as a home for a community that struggles to find comparable information elsewhere on the web.

facebook
linkedin
x

Company

Contact us

Categories

News IT Management Infrastructure Developer Security High Performance Storage Blog

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

Terms of Service Privacy Policy California - Do Not Sell My Information