Create root password in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa

By default not only in Ubuntu 20.04 but in previous versions such as Ubuntu 19.10/18.04… there would not be any password for the root user, however, we can set it manually using the command line terminal.

Requirements

Of course, you need an installed Ubuntu 20.04 and a non-root user with sudo access to initiate the administrative commands.

Steps to set Ubuntu 20.04 LTS root password

Here we will learn the method to create a root password for both Ubuntu Desktop and server latest operating systems, however, you can use the same command in earlier versions 19.10/19.0418.04,16.04 including Linux Mint. Nevertheless, there is no compulsion to go for this, even sudo user is enough to run commands and if you don’t want to use sudo  every time, then, gain the escalated privileges or root access using the command: sudo -i

Still, if you to use the password for root then there are the steps…

Run Passwd command to set or change the root password

Open the command terminal on GUI Desktop of Ubuntu 20.04 either through Activities or simply by using the CTRL+ALT+T  keyboard shortcut. If you are on the server, the CLI is already there, go ahead with the command:

sudo passwd root

Supply your sudo user password and then Enter the New password two times for the root user and everything is set.

The above command can also be used in future to change the root password as well, in case you forget that, but make sure you have the access of sudo the non-root user. However, if you don’t have any of them or forget both root and non-user password. Then open the Grub menu and follow the advance steps to reset the Ubuntu 20.04 password.

Login as root

su root

To confirm whether you got the access simply type: whoami

So this was the quick tutorial on this subject.

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