How can I programmatically cause a new Windows user's profile to be created?
I'm creating a (local) user for a Windows service to run as. I've got good reasons for not wanting to use NETWORK SERVICE, LOCAL SERVICE, or LOCAL SYSTEM.
I create the user via net user foobar "Abcd123!" /add
- this works fine.
At this point, c:usersfoobar
does not exist.
If I create the user's home directory, before the user either logs on (or, more pertinently) or the service that the user is for starts up, Windows creates a user-profile next-door called c:usersfoobar-{gibberish/SID/whatever}
- this is not a predictable name.
I need the user's home directory to contain things like a .ssh
directory, a .gitconfig
- tools like that (not limited to those tools) that make assumptions that it'll be a person using them, and so user-configuration goes inside ~/...
. Usually, tools from a Unix heritage.
Actual question
So - is there a programmatic (preferably, PowerShell, or out-of-the-box command-line) way to tell Windows to create the user-profile for a local user?
Or, any other workarounds?
Things I've yet to try:
- An NSSM start/pre hook that copies files from elsewhere into the user-profile directory that hopefully exists at this point by virtue of Windows starting the service, creating the user-profile then handing control to the NSSM wrapper running the hook before startup.
- Setting the USERPROFILE environment variable for the service to be somewhere other than the actual user-profile directory. This strikes me as dangerously off-piste but also might work fine.
Other context:
- Windows Server 2016, desktop experience.
- Can't use Core/Nano.
- There is no active directory in play. There won't be.
- These are local users.
- I'm doing this via Ansible, which is using PowerShell under the hood for Windows things. Specifically the win_user module, with Ansible 2.7.5.
- I don't want to create a
C:usersdefault
(the equivalent of/etc/skel
), because there are a few different service-users and one size won't fit all. This also doesn't affect when the user-profile is created, just what will be in it when it is. - I'm using NSSM to manage the services.
Things I've tried
- starting the service and allowing Windows to create the directory
- I don't want to do this, because the service requires secrets before starting up, and so if I do this inside my image-baking process I'll then need to clean them up, and also make sure my service doesn't do any work during the baking phase. I want to avoid both of those fiddly bits.
windows powershell windows-service
add a comment |
I'm creating a (local) user for a Windows service to run as. I've got good reasons for not wanting to use NETWORK SERVICE, LOCAL SERVICE, or LOCAL SYSTEM.
I create the user via net user foobar "Abcd123!" /add
- this works fine.
At this point, c:usersfoobar
does not exist.
If I create the user's home directory, before the user either logs on (or, more pertinently) or the service that the user is for starts up, Windows creates a user-profile next-door called c:usersfoobar-{gibberish/SID/whatever}
- this is not a predictable name.
I need the user's home directory to contain things like a .ssh
directory, a .gitconfig
- tools like that (not limited to those tools) that make assumptions that it'll be a person using them, and so user-configuration goes inside ~/...
. Usually, tools from a Unix heritage.
Actual question
So - is there a programmatic (preferably, PowerShell, or out-of-the-box command-line) way to tell Windows to create the user-profile for a local user?
Or, any other workarounds?
Things I've yet to try:
- An NSSM start/pre hook that copies files from elsewhere into the user-profile directory that hopefully exists at this point by virtue of Windows starting the service, creating the user-profile then handing control to the NSSM wrapper running the hook before startup.
- Setting the USERPROFILE environment variable for the service to be somewhere other than the actual user-profile directory. This strikes me as dangerously off-piste but also might work fine.
Other context:
- Windows Server 2016, desktop experience.
- Can't use Core/Nano.
- There is no active directory in play. There won't be.
- These are local users.
- I'm doing this via Ansible, which is using PowerShell under the hood for Windows things. Specifically the win_user module, with Ansible 2.7.5.
- I don't want to create a
C:usersdefault
(the equivalent of/etc/skel
), because there are a few different service-users and one size won't fit all. This also doesn't affect when the user-profile is created, just what will be in it when it is. - I'm using NSSM to manage the services.
Things I've tried
- starting the service and allowing Windows to create the directory
- I don't want to do this, because the service requires secrets before starting up, and so if I do this inside my image-baking process I'll then need to clean them up, and also make sure my service doesn't do any work during the baking phase. I want to avoid both of those fiddly bits.
windows powershell windows-service
Have you checked the optionsnet user
has (e.g./HOMEDIR
or/PROFILEPATH
)? . Seenet user /help
. From my (untested) understanding, you can create a directory for the user, and set this as homedir with the/HOMEDIR
switch.
– Sven♦
8 hours ago
May I ask what use case do you have that avoids Active Directory? Things would be much easier with AD. Just curious.
– Ondrej Tucny
6 hours ago
add a comment |
I'm creating a (local) user for a Windows service to run as. I've got good reasons for not wanting to use NETWORK SERVICE, LOCAL SERVICE, or LOCAL SYSTEM.
I create the user via net user foobar "Abcd123!" /add
- this works fine.
At this point, c:usersfoobar
does not exist.
If I create the user's home directory, before the user either logs on (or, more pertinently) or the service that the user is for starts up, Windows creates a user-profile next-door called c:usersfoobar-{gibberish/SID/whatever}
- this is not a predictable name.
I need the user's home directory to contain things like a .ssh
directory, a .gitconfig
- tools like that (not limited to those tools) that make assumptions that it'll be a person using them, and so user-configuration goes inside ~/...
. Usually, tools from a Unix heritage.
Actual question
So - is there a programmatic (preferably, PowerShell, or out-of-the-box command-line) way to tell Windows to create the user-profile for a local user?
Or, any other workarounds?
Things I've yet to try:
- An NSSM start/pre hook that copies files from elsewhere into the user-profile directory that hopefully exists at this point by virtue of Windows starting the service, creating the user-profile then handing control to the NSSM wrapper running the hook before startup.
- Setting the USERPROFILE environment variable for the service to be somewhere other than the actual user-profile directory. This strikes me as dangerously off-piste but also might work fine.
Other context:
- Windows Server 2016, desktop experience.
- Can't use Core/Nano.
- There is no active directory in play. There won't be.
- These are local users.
- I'm doing this via Ansible, which is using PowerShell under the hood for Windows things. Specifically the win_user module, with Ansible 2.7.5.
- I don't want to create a
C:usersdefault
(the equivalent of/etc/skel
), because there are a few different service-users and one size won't fit all. This also doesn't affect when the user-profile is created, just what will be in it when it is. - I'm using NSSM to manage the services.
Things I've tried
- starting the service and allowing Windows to create the directory
- I don't want to do this, because the service requires secrets before starting up, and so if I do this inside my image-baking process I'll then need to clean them up, and also make sure my service doesn't do any work during the baking phase. I want to avoid both of those fiddly bits.
windows powershell windows-service
I'm creating a (local) user for a Windows service to run as. I've got good reasons for not wanting to use NETWORK SERVICE, LOCAL SERVICE, or LOCAL SYSTEM.
I create the user via net user foobar "Abcd123!" /add
- this works fine.
At this point, c:usersfoobar
does not exist.
If I create the user's home directory, before the user either logs on (or, more pertinently) or the service that the user is for starts up, Windows creates a user-profile next-door called c:usersfoobar-{gibberish/SID/whatever}
- this is not a predictable name.
I need the user's home directory to contain things like a .ssh
directory, a .gitconfig
- tools like that (not limited to those tools) that make assumptions that it'll be a person using them, and so user-configuration goes inside ~/...
. Usually, tools from a Unix heritage.
Actual question
So - is there a programmatic (preferably, PowerShell, or out-of-the-box command-line) way to tell Windows to create the user-profile for a local user?
Or, any other workarounds?
Things I've yet to try:
- An NSSM start/pre hook that copies files from elsewhere into the user-profile directory that hopefully exists at this point by virtue of Windows starting the service, creating the user-profile then handing control to the NSSM wrapper running the hook before startup.
- Setting the USERPROFILE environment variable for the service to be somewhere other than the actual user-profile directory. This strikes me as dangerously off-piste but also might work fine.
Other context:
- Windows Server 2016, desktop experience.
- Can't use Core/Nano.
- There is no active directory in play. There won't be.
- These are local users.
- I'm doing this via Ansible, which is using PowerShell under the hood for Windows things. Specifically the win_user module, with Ansible 2.7.5.
- I don't want to create a
C:usersdefault
(the equivalent of/etc/skel
), because there are a few different service-users and one size won't fit all. This also doesn't affect when the user-profile is created, just what will be in it when it is. - I'm using NSSM to manage the services.
Things I've tried
- starting the service and allowing Windows to create the directory
- I don't want to do this, because the service requires secrets before starting up, and so if I do this inside my image-baking process I'll then need to clean them up, and also make sure my service doesn't do any work during the baking phase. I want to avoid both of those fiddly bits.
windows powershell windows-service
windows powershell windows-service
edited 45 mins ago
Peter Mortensen
2,09742124
2,09742124
asked 9 hours ago
Peter Mounce
67641124
67641124
Have you checked the optionsnet user
has (e.g./HOMEDIR
or/PROFILEPATH
)? . Seenet user /help
. From my (untested) understanding, you can create a directory for the user, and set this as homedir with the/HOMEDIR
switch.
– Sven♦
8 hours ago
May I ask what use case do you have that avoids Active Directory? Things would be much easier with AD. Just curious.
– Ondrej Tucny
6 hours ago
add a comment |
Have you checked the optionsnet user
has (e.g./HOMEDIR
or/PROFILEPATH
)? . Seenet user /help
. From my (untested) understanding, you can create a directory for the user, and set this as homedir with the/HOMEDIR
switch.
– Sven♦
8 hours ago
May I ask what use case do you have that avoids Active Directory? Things would be much easier with AD. Just curious.
– Ondrej Tucny
6 hours ago
Have you checked the options
net user
has (e.g. /HOMEDIR
or /PROFILEPATH
)? . See net user /help
. From my (untested) understanding, you can create a directory for the user, and set this as homedir with the /HOMEDIR
switch.– Sven♦
8 hours ago
Have you checked the options
net user
has (e.g. /HOMEDIR
or /PROFILEPATH
)? . See net user /help
. From my (untested) understanding, you can create a directory for the user, and set this as homedir with the /HOMEDIR
switch.– Sven♦
8 hours ago
May I ask what use case do you have that avoids Active Directory? Things would be much easier with AD. Just curious.
– Ondrej Tucny
6 hours ago
May I ask what use case do you have that avoids Active Directory? Things would be much easier with AD. Just curious.
– Ondrej Tucny
6 hours ago
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
All you need to do is run a command as that user, Windows will create the profile:
psexec.exe -u foobar -p Abcd123! cmd.exe /c exit
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psexec
add a comment |
Windows can create a user-profile on-demand, using the CreateProfile API
However, if don't want to create an executable to perform this operation, you can call the API in PowerShell. Others have already done it: example on github.
Relevant part of the code:
$methodName = 'UserEnvCP'
$script:nativeMethods = @();
Register-NativeMethod "userenv.dll" "int CreateProfile([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pszUserSid,`
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pszUserName,`
[Out][MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] StringBuilder pszProfilePath, uint cchProfilePath)";
Add-NativeMethods -typeName $MethodName;
$localUser = New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount("$UserName");
$userSID = $localUser.Translate([System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier]);
$sb = new-object System.Text.StringBuilder(260);
$pathLen = $sb.Capacity;
Write-Verbose "Creating user profile for $Username";
try
{
[UserEnvCP]::CreateProfile($userSID.Value, $Username, $sb, $pathLen) | Out-Null;
}
catch
{
Write-Error $_.Exception.Message;
break;
}
add a comment |
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
All you need to do is run a command as that user, Windows will create the profile:
psexec.exe -u foobar -p Abcd123! cmd.exe /c exit
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psexec
add a comment |
All you need to do is run a command as that user, Windows will create the profile:
psexec.exe -u foobar -p Abcd123! cmd.exe /c exit
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psexec
add a comment |
All you need to do is run a command as that user, Windows will create the profile:
psexec.exe -u foobar -p Abcd123! cmd.exe /c exit
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psexec
All you need to do is run a command as that user, Windows will create the profile:
psexec.exe -u foobar -p Abcd123! cmd.exe /c exit
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psexec
answered 8 hours ago
Greg Askew
28.2k33667
28.2k33667
add a comment |
add a comment |
Windows can create a user-profile on-demand, using the CreateProfile API
However, if don't want to create an executable to perform this operation, you can call the API in PowerShell. Others have already done it: example on github.
Relevant part of the code:
$methodName = 'UserEnvCP'
$script:nativeMethods = @();
Register-NativeMethod "userenv.dll" "int CreateProfile([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pszUserSid,`
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pszUserName,`
[Out][MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] StringBuilder pszProfilePath, uint cchProfilePath)";
Add-NativeMethods -typeName $MethodName;
$localUser = New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount("$UserName");
$userSID = $localUser.Translate([System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier]);
$sb = new-object System.Text.StringBuilder(260);
$pathLen = $sb.Capacity;
Write-Verbose "Creating user profile for $Username";
try
{
[UserEnvCP]::CreateProfile($userSID.Value, $Username, $sb, $pathLen) | Out-Null;
}
catch
{
Write-Error $_.Exception.Message;
break;
}
add a comment |
Windows can create a user-profile on-demand, using the CreateProfile API
However, if don't want to create an executable to perform this operation, you can call the API in PowerShell. Others have already done it: example on github.
Relevant part of the code:
$methodName = 'UserEnvCP'
$script:nativeMethods = @();
Register-NativeMethod "userenv.dll" "int CreateProfile([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pszUserSid,`
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pszUserName,`
[Out][MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] StringBuilder pszProfilePath, uint cchProfilePath)";
Add-NativeMethods -typeName $MethodName;
$localUser = New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount("$UserName");
$userSID = $localUser.Translate([System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier]);
$sb = new-object System.Text.StringBuilder(260);
$pathLen = $sb.Capacity;
Write-Verbose "Creating user profile for $Username";
try
{
[UserEnvCP]::CreateProfile($userSID.Value, $Username, $sb, $pathLen) | Out-Null;
}
catch
{
Write-Error $_.Exception.Message;
break;
}
add a comment |
Windows can create a user-profile on-demand, using the CreateProfile API
However, if don't want to create an executable to perform this operation, you can call the API in PowerShell. Others have already done it: example on github.
Relevant part of the code:
$methodName = 'UserEnvCP'
$script:nativeMethods = @();
Register-NativeMethod "userenv.dll" "int CreateProfile([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pszUserSid,`
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pszUserName,`
[Out][MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] StringBuilder pszProfilePath, uint cchProfilePath)";
Add-NativeMethods -typeName $MethodName;
$localUser = New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount("$UserName");
$userSID = $localUser.Translate([System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier]);
$sb = new-object System.Text.StringBuilder(260);
$pathLen = $sb.Capacity;
Write-Verbose "Creating user profile for $Username";
try
{
[UserEnvCP]::CreateProfile($userSID.Value, $Username, $sb, $pathLen) | Out-Null;
}
catch
{
Write-Error $_.Exception.Message;
break;
}
Windows can create a user-profile on-demand, using the CreateProfile API
However, if don't want to create an executable to perform this operation, you can call the API in PowerShell. Others have already done it: example on github.
Relevant part of the code:
$methodName = 'UserEnvCP'
$script:nativeMethods = @();
Register-NativeMethod "userenv.dll" "int CreateProfile([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pszUserSid,`
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pszUserName,`
[Out][MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] StringBuilder pszProfilePath, uint cchProfilePath)";
Add-NativeMethods -typeName $MethodName;
$localUser = New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount("$UserName");
$userSID = $localUser.Translate([System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier]);
$sb = new-object System.Text.StringBuilder(260);
$pathLen = $sb.Capacity;
Write-Verbose "Creating user profile for $Username";
try
{
[UserEnvCP]::CreateProfile($userSID.Value, $Username, $sb, $pathLen) | Out-Null;
}
catch
{
Write-Error $_.Exception.Message;
break;
}
answered 8 hours ago
Swisstone
1,5941816
1,5941816
add a comment |
add a comment |
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Have you checked the options
net user
has (e.g./HOMEDIR
or/PROFILEPATH
)? . Seenet user /help
. From my (untested) understanding, you can create a directory for the user, and set this as homedir with the/HOMEDIR
switch.– Sven♦
8 hours ago
May I ask what use case do you have that avoids Active Directory? Things would be much easier with AD. Just curious.
– Ondrej Tucny
6 hours ago