Commands · Command
CommandLinuxmacOS
su
su [-] [username]Switches to another user account within the current terminal session, prompting for that user's password (defaults to root if no username is given).
// FLAGS
-also -l/--login: start a full login shell with the target user's environment, not just their permissions// EXAMPLE
su - — switches to the root user with root's full environment (PATH, home directory, etc.), after prompting for the root password.
// GOTCHA
Plain su (without the -) keeps your original environment variables and working directory — commands can behave unexpectedly since PATH and HOME still point at the original user, not the one you switched to.
// RELATED COMMANDS