Dsadd user

Updated: September 7, 2010

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

Adds a single user to the directory.

Dsadd is a command-line tool that is built into Windows Server 2008. It is available if you
have the Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) server role installed. To use dsadd, you
must run the dsadd command from an elevated command prompt. To open an elevated
command prompt, click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as
administrator.

For examples of how to use this command, see Examples.

Syntax
dsadd user <UserDN> [-samid <SAMName>] [-upn <UPN>] [-fn <FirstName>] [-mi
<Initial>] [-ln <LastName>] [-display <DisplayName>] [-empid <EmployeeID>]
[-pwd {<Password> | *}] [-desc <Description>] [-memberof <Group> ...] [-
office <Office>] [-tel <PhoneNumber>] [-email <Email>] [-hometel
<HomePhoneNumber>] [-pager <PagerNumber>] [-mobile <CellPhoneNumber>] [-fax
<FaxNumber>] [-iptel <IPPhoneNumber>] [-webpg <WebPage>] [-title <Title>]
[-dept <Department>] [-company <Company>] [-mgr <Manager>] [-hmdir
<HomeDirectory>] [-hmdrv <DriveLetter>:][-profile <ProfilePath>] [-loscr
<ScriptPath>] [-mustchpwd {yes | no}] [-canchpwd {yes | no}] [-
reversiblepwd {yes | no}] [-pwdneverexpires {yes | no}] [-acctexpires
<NumberOfDays>] [-disabled {yes | no}] [{-s <Server> | -d <Domain>}] [-u
<UserName>] [-p {<Password> | *}] [-q] [{-uc | -uco | -uci}]

Parameters
 

Parameter Description

Required. Specifies the distinguished name of the user that you want
<UserDN> to add. If you omit the distinguished name, dsadd takes the name
from standard input (stdin).

Specifies the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) name as the unique

SAM account name for this user, for example, Linda. If you do not
-samid <SAMName> specify the SAM name, dsadd attempts to create the SAM account
name by using up to the first 20 characters from the common name
(CN) value of UserDN.

Specifies the user principal name of the user that you want to add, for
-upn <UPN>
example, Linda@widgets.contoso.com.
-fn <FirstName> Specifies the first name of the user that you want to add.

-mi <Initial> Specifies the middle initial of the user that you want to add.

-ln <LastName> Specifies the last name of the user that you want to add.

-display
Specifies the display name of the user that you want to add.
<DisplayName>

-empid <EmployeeID> Specifies the employee ID of the user that you want to add.

Specifies that the password for the user be set to Password or an

-pwd {<Password>| *} asterisk (*). If you set the password to *, dsadd prompts you for a
user password.

-desc <Description> Specifies the description of the user that you want to add.

-memberof Specifies the distinguished names of the groups of which you want the
<GroupDN> user to be a member.

-office <Office> Specifies the office location of the user that you want to add.

-tel <PhoneNumbe>r Specifies the telephone number of the user that you want to add.

-email <Email> Specifies the e-mail address of the user that you want to add.

-hometel
Specifies the home telephone number of the user that you want to add.
<HomePhoneNumber>

-pager <PagerNumber> Specifies the pager number of the user that you want to add.

-mobile
Specifies the cell phone number of the user that you want to add.
<CellPhoneNumber>

-fax <FaxNumber> Specifies the fax number of the user that you want to add.

-iptel
Specifies the IP phone number of the user that you want to add.
<IPPhoneNumber>

-webpg <WebPage> Specifies the Web page URL of the user that you want to add.

-title <Title> Specifies the title of the user that you want to add.

-dept <Department> Specifies the department of the user that you want to add.

-company <Company> Specifies the company information of the user that you want to add.
 Specifies the distinguished name of the manager of the user that you
-mgr <ManagerDN>
want to add.

Specifies the home directory location of the user that you want to add.
-hmdir If you specify HomeDirectory as a Universal Naming Convention
<HomeDirectory> (UNC) path, then you must specify a drive letter for dsadd to map to
this path using the -hmdrv parameter.

Specifies the home directory drive letter (for example, E:) of the user
-hmdrv <DriveLetter> :
that you want to add.

-profile <ProfilePath> Specifies the profile path of the user that you want to add.

-loscr <ScriptPath> Specifies the logon script path of the user that you want to add.

Specifies whether users must change their passwords when they next
-mustchpwd {yes | no} log on. The available values are yes and no. By default, users do not
have to change their passwords (no).

Specifies whether users can change their passwords. The available

values are yes and no. By default, users can change their passwords
-canchpwd {yes | no}
(yes). The value of this parameter must be yes if the value of the
-mustchpwd parameter is yes.

Specifies whether to store user passwords using reversible encryption.

-reversiblepwd {yes |
The available values are yes and no. By default, users cannot use
no}
reversible encryption (no).

-pwdneverexpires {yes Specifies whether the user password never expires. The available
| no} values are yes and no. By default, user passwords expire (no).

Specifies the number of days from today that the user account will
expire. A value of 0 sets expiration at the end of today. A positive
value sets expiration in the future. A negative value sets expiration in
-acctexpires the past. The value never sets the account to never expire. For
<NumberOfDays> example, a value of 0 implies that the account expires at the end of
today. A value of -5 implies that the account has already expired 5
days ago and sets an expiration date in the past. A value of 5 sets the
account expiration date for 5 days in the future.
Specifies whether dsadd disables the user account for logon. The
-disabled {yes | no} available values are yes or no. For example, the following command
creates a Nicolettep user account in an enabled state:

dsadd user
CN=Nicolettep,CN=Users,DC=Widgets,DC=Contoso,DC=Com -pwd
Password1 -disabled no

By default, the user account is disabled for log on (yes). For example,
 the following command creates a Nathanp user account in a disabled
state:

dsadd user
CN=Nathanp,CN=Users,DC=Widgets,DC=Contoso,DC=Com

{-s <Server> | -d Connects to a specified remote server or domain. By default, the

<Domain>} computer is connected to the domain controller in the logon domain.
Specifies the user name with which the user logs on to a remote
server. By default, -u uses the user name with which the user logged
on. You can use any of the following formats to specify a user name:

 user name (for example, Linda)

-u <UserName>
 domain\user name (for example, widgets\Linda)

 user principal name (UPN) (for example,

Linda@widgets.contoso.com)

Specifies to use either a password or a * to log on to a remote server.

-p {<Password> | *}
If you type *, you are prompted for a password.

-q Suppresses all output to standard output (quiet mode).

Specifies that output or input data is formatted in Unicode. The
following list explains each format.

 -uc: Specifies a Unicode format for input from or output to a

pipe (|).

{-uc | -uco | -uci}  -uco : Specifies a Unicode format for output to a pipe (|) or a
file.

 -uci: Specifies a Unicode format for input from a pipe (|) or a

file.

/? Displays help at the command prompt.

Remarks
 If you do not supply a target object at the command prompt, dsadd obtains the target
object from standard input (stdin). Dsadd can accept stdin from the keyboard, from a
redirected file, or as piped output from another command. To mark the end of stdin
data from the keyboard or in a redirected file, use the end-of-file character (CTRL+Z).

 If a value that you supply contains spaces, use quotation marks around the text, for
example, "CN=Mike Danseglio,CN=Users,DC=Contoso,DC=Com".
  If you supply multiple values for a parameter, use spaces to separate the values, for
example, a list of distinguished names.
 You can use the special token $username$, which is case insensitive, to replace the
SAM account name in the value of the -email, -hmdir, -profile, and -webpg
parameters. For example, if a SAM account name is Denise, you can write the -hmdir
parameter in either of the following formats:

-hmdir \\users\Denise\home

-hmdir \\users\$username$\home
 Using strong passwords on all user accounts helps minimize security risks.
 In order to set the Remote Desktop Services User Profile, you can use Group Policy.
For more information, see Profiles (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=201495).

Examples
To create an enabled user account named MikeDan in the default Users container of
northwindtraders.com, type:

dsadd user cn=MikeDan,cn=users,dc=northwindtraders,dc=com -disabled no

To create an enabled user account named John Smith with a password of C^h3Bdo9# that
must be changed at first logon, in an organizational unit (OU) named SouthEmployees in a
domain named northwindtraders.com, type:

dsadd user “cn=John Smith,ou=SouthEmployees,dc=northwindtraders,dc=com”

-disabled no –pwd C^h3Bdo9# -mustchpwd yes

To create the same account, with a set it to never expire, and make it a member of the Janitors
group in the same OU, type:

dsadd user “cn=John Smith,ou=SouthEmployees,dc=northwindtraders,dc=com”

-disabled no –pwd C^h3Bdo9# -mustchpwd yes -memberof
cn=janitors,ou=SouthEmployees,dc=northwindtraders,dc=com -acctexpires never

Additional references

Command-Line Syntax Key

Dsadd

Dsadd computer

Dsadd contact

Dsadd group

Dsadd ou

Dsadd quota