How to delete a user in Ubuntu but keep his home dir?

I need to delete a user, but I need to keep his home dir.

I tried userdel -r user, but this also removes his home dir.

Is there a way to do this?

Solution 1:

The -r does the exact opposite of what you want. From userdel --help:

-r, --remove    remove home directory and mail spool

Instead of userdel -r user, just use:

userdel user

Solution 2:

Option 1:

Use the deluser command.

However, before doing so check the file /etc/deluser.conf

And check the line

# Remove home directory and mail spool when user is removed
REMOVE_HOME = 0

Ensure this to 0 (not 1) before calling deluser.

Option 2:

sudo vipw Find the entry you want to remove (first part of the line up to the first ':' is the username). Then type "dd" to remove the entire line.

Save and exit with "esc + wq".