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Script to check if a user exists on macOS devices

This document provides a guide on checking if a user exists on macOS devices using a script.

Effective user account management is essential for maintaining access control and security. Organizations must ensure that only authorized users have access to their macOS devices. Using a script, IT admins can efficiently check for the presence of a specific user. This verification can be performed remotely with Hexnode’s Execute Custom Script action.

Scripting language – Bash

File extension – .sh

Disclaimer:

The sample script provided below are adapted from third-party open-source sites.

Note:

The script is supported only on macOS versions 10.14 and above.

Check if a user exists

#!/bin/bash 
if id -u "User" >/dev/null 2>&1; then 
  echo "Yes, the user exists." 
else 
  echo "No, the user does not exist." 
fi

#!/bin/bash

if id -u "User" >/dev/null 2>&1; then

echo "Yes, the user exists."

else

echo "No, the user does not exist."

Replace ‘User’ in the script with the specific username to check. The script will then verify whether the specified user exists on the device.

Here is an example of the script

#!/bin/bash
if id -u "Anthony" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
echo "Yes, the user exists."
else 
echo "No, the user does not exist." 
fi

#!/bin/bash

if id -u "Anthony" >/dev/null 2>&1; then

echo "Yes, the user exists."

else

echo "No, the user does not exist."

id -u “User” >/dev/null 2>&1; then: The ‘id’ command with the ‘-u’ option returns the user ID of the specified username. In the script, ‘>/dev/null 2>&1’ is used to hide both the regular output and error messages generated by the id command. This ensures that the output only displays whether the user exists or not, without showing any additional information. The ‘if’ statement verifies the exit status of the ‘id’ command. If the specified user exists, the exit status would be 0, and the script proceeds to the ‘then’ block.

echo “Yes, the user exists.” prints a message if the user exists.

echo “No, the user does not exist.” prints the message if the user does not exist on the macOS device.

Notes:

It is recommended to manually validate the script execution on a system before executing the action in bulk.
Hexnode will not be responsible for any damage/loss to the system on the behavior of the script.

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