unix user alias

is there a way to set up user aliases in unix such that if you have a user, my_user, they can log in with an alternate username, i.e. my_user_alternate and still be logged in as my_user?

Solution 1:

Yes, create the new user and set its UID to be the same as the other one.

This is commonly used to create "alternate" root logins.

Solution 2:

You can do this by adding a new user with the same user id (uid) as the one you want as an alternative.

e.g.:

useradd -o -u 1001 my_user_alternate

It's the -o option that allows you to have the same uid. (Assuming that the user you want to 'copy' has a uid of 1020)