I do this so I will land in the docroot of the virtual host when using SSH, FileZilla, and/or Visual Studio Code. This configuration aids me when I want to edit PHP remotrely using Visual Studio Code.
The command sudo usermod -d is used to change the home directory of a user on a Unix-like operating system. In this case I use this command on Ubuntu 24.04LTS.
Here’s a Breakdown of the Command
sudo: This command runs the following command with superuser (root) privileges, which are often necessary for modifying user accounts.
usermod: This is the command used to modify user account settings.
-d <directory-path>: This option specifies the new home directory for the user.
username: This is the placeholder for the actual username of the account whose home directory you want to change.
Apache configures a default virtual host as part of the initial installation. This virtual host is incomplete as a virtual host. I completed the build of the default Apache virtual host.
As part of the build out I added a user named default and changed it’s home directory to /var/www/html by the following command:
– sudo usermod -d /var/www/html default
Key Points
Changing Home Directory: This command changes where the user’s files and settings are stored. By default, a user’s home directory is often located in /home/username.
Permissions: Ensure that the new directory (<directory-path>) has the appropriate permissions for the user to access and manage files there.
Impact: Changing the home directory can affect scripts, applications, and settings that rely on the old home directory path.
Make sure to back up any important data before making such changes.