Naming Conventions for Users

Bringing together multiple existing, disparate services like Windows, Linux, Google Apps and others into a single directory requires you to consider a naming convention for usernames. Your naming convention will assist your organization in naming future users and ensuring consistent usernames.

Determining Local Usernames

JumpCloud

The JumpCloud account username is specified in the * Username field of the User aside Details tab in the JumpCloud Admin Portal.  

Warning: In order for the JumpCloud account to take over an existing account on a system, the usernames must match. For Linux and Mac, this match is case sensitive.

Mac

Apple shows the term “User” next to what JumpCloud would consider the full name. Here, the displayed “Account name” needs to match the * Username of the JumpCloud account.  

Note: In macOS Ventura, Account name has been changed to User name (making this all slightly more confusing than it needs to be).

To find the Account name:

1. Open System Settings.

2. Select Users & Groups.

3. Click the lock in the bottom left and enter your password.

4. Right-click the user and select Advanced Options….

5.  The Account name is displayed on this screen.

Windows

Within the control panel for “User Accounts,” Windows shows the full name and not the actual username of the Windows user.

To find the username:

1. Open the Control Panel.

2. Go to Administrative Tools.

3. Select Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users.

4. The username is displayed on this screen under the Name heading.

Determining a Naming Convention

Usernames must:

• Start with an alphabetic character.

• Not contain spaces or “@”.

• Be 30 characters or fewer for Mac or Linux, or 20 characters or fewer for Windows.

• Contain only valid Unix Characters – letters, numbers, “-”, “.”, and “_”.

• Be different from the system host name on Windows.

Considerations:

• System character restrictions.

• Length (Windows is limited to 20 characters).

• Case – “user” is not the same as “USER” is not the same as “User”.

• Generally, it’s good practice to use a convention such as first initial and last name (bexample), first name and last name (bobexample), or another convention where it is unlikely two users will have the same username. After a convention is selected, recreate or rename any users that aren’t in compliance.

• We recommend creating a scalable naming convention to grow with your organization. Consider how your organization may change or grow in the future when as you select a naming convention.

Changing Existing Usernames in JumpCloud

If a JumpCloud user is not bound to any resources, you can change their username.

Considerations:

• We recommend that you change a username during the user creation process, prior to binding the user to resources. For example, if you mistype a username after you create and save a user, you can change the username.

• A username can only be modified if the user is not bound to any resources. 

Changing Existing Usernames in Systems

Application installations can be dependent on the existing username. Refer to your software vendor for further consideration on possible issues and remediation.

The process of renaming users will vary by OS type and version. The following is not meant to be exhaustive, nor the only method for renaming usernames.

Note: Changing existing usernames for Mac and Linux is generally not recommended unless you have a full understanding of the impacts from doing so. Changing the username on these platforms can have adverse effects on application and file access.

• Mac – Renaming users with a shell script

• Windows – Changing a username under Windows

• Linux – Tips for changing usernames