# Can't execute 'groupadd' error on Linux
**URL:** https://discourse.nixos.org/t/cant-execute-groupadd-error-on-linux/80269
**Category:** Help
**Created:** [September 24, 2026, 6:52pm UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/cant-execute-groupadd-error-on-linux/80269 "2026-09-24T18:52:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Alarmed\_Prize](https://discourse.nixos.org/u/Alarmed_Prize)
#### Post date: [September 24, 2026, 6:52pm UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/cant-execute-groupadd-error-on-linux/80269/1 "2026-09-24T18:52:47Z")
Hello. I’ve been testing Nix install (the package manager) on multiple different Linux distros, and I’ve run into the same issue on multiple different ones. Mainly, this one right here:
`env: can't execute 'groupadd': No such file or directory`
This issue comes up, and the Nix install just comes to a halt right there. I am using the multi-user install setup for Nix.
I’m wondering, how do I fix this issue? I’ve noticed that on the multiple Linux distros, there’s an “addgroup” command, but not a “groupadd” command, meaning they’re different commands. I’ve tried to make “groupadd” a symlink for the “addgroup” command, but since the programs are different, it doesn’t work well.
Linux distros tested this on that result in the same error: TinyCore Linux 17.0, Puppy Linux (NoblePup32 24.04)
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### Author:  [@NobbZ](https://discourse.nixos.org/u/NobbZ)
#### Post date: [September 24, 2026, 7:52pm UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/cant-execute-groupadd-error-on-linux/80269/2 "2026-09-24T19:52:13Z")
You need shadow utils/shadow tools or whatever your distro calls them.
Also as far as I remember, the daemon/multi user mode requires systemd or launcherd (or whatever the MacOS thingy is called).
So you’ll have to got with the single user/no-daemon installation.
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### Author:  [@bitbloxhub](https://discourse.nixos.org/u/bitbloxhub)
#### Post date: [September 24, 2026, 8:05pm UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/cant-execute-groupadd-error-on-linux/80269/3 "2026-09-24T20:05:25Z")
> [@NobbZ](#):
>
> Also as far as I remember, the daemon/multi user mode requires systemd or launcherd (or whatever the MacOS thingy is called).
>
> So you’ll have to got with the single user/no-daemon installation.
Don’t think so, AFAICT you just need to configure your non-systemd service manager to automatically start `nix-daemon` as root. The `NixOS/nix` [install script](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/blob/8f7ed1c1d1246bfa98cefd152c87d1ea26a3d463/scripts/install-multi-user.sh#L506-L517) documents this, but [`NixOS/nix-installer`](https://github.com/NixOS/nix-installer/) seems to not support/document it.
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### Author:  [@Alarmed\_Prize](https://discourse.nixos.org/u/Alarmed_Prize)
#### Post date: [September 24, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/cant-execute-groupadd-error-on-linux/80269/4 "2026-09-24T22:09:46Z")
The single user/no-daemon has an error when installing it on Puppy Linux (NoblePup32 24.04). The error looks like this
And this is what happens when I try to do the single-user install on TinyCore Linux 17.0
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### Author:  [@arcayr](https://discourse.nixos.org/u/arcayr)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2026, 12:24am UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/cant-execute-groupadd-error-on-linux/80269/5 "2026-09-25T00:24:30Z")
in the tinycore linux case, the install script is busted on systems that use busybox coreutils because busybox’s `cp` doesn’t support `--preserve`: [installers: busybox cp in Alpine fails due to unsupported --preserve flags · Issue #13480 · NixOS/nix · GitHub](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/13480)
if you can grab gnu coreutils via its coreutils extension that’ll be the easiest and best way. based on a quick read of the [tce-load](https://github.com/tinycorelinux/Core-scripts/blob/dd2d15f6d8dc65517ff75fb088df0fd54d926c62/usr/bin/tce-load) script i think something around `tce-load -wi coreutils` is what you’re after for that.
otherwise you can patch the install script to patch the _other_ install script to use `-p` instead of `--preserve` by adding something like `sed -i 's/--preserve=ownership,timestamps/-p/' "$script"` to the script curl downloads, after `export INVOKED_FROM_INSTALL_IN=1`. this may end up not being fun later.
in the puppy linux case, you’re doing a single-user installation as root. there are a bunch of ways to get around this problem but realistically none of them are particularly fun later, either. just use a non-root user.
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### Author:  [@Alarmed\_Prize](https://discourse.nixos.org/u/Alarmed_Prize)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 6:56pm UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/cant-execute-groupadd-error-on-linux/80269/6 "2026-09-26T18:56:59Z")
I managed to get the install on Puppy Linux to work by logging in as a different user in the terminal via `su - username` and doing the single-user install for that user, but after the install, the commands `nix-shell` and `nix` don’t do anything, as if they aren’t recognized commands. That’s strange.
On TinyCore Linux, I ran the `tce-load -wi coreutils` command, then did the Nix single-user install, but I ran into this new error that says this:
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### Author:  [@NobbZ](https://discourse.nixos.org/u/NobbZ)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 7:40pm UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/cant-execute-groupadd-error-on-linux/80269/7 "2026-09-26T19:40:12Z")
> [@Alarmed\_Prize](#):
>
> but after the install, the commands `nix-shell` and `nix` don’t do anything, as if they aren’t recognized commands.
Did you follow the instructions and have sourced the shell script? And also made sure it is sourced by the users shells RC file?
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### Author:  [@Alarmed\_Prize](https://discourse.nixos.org/u/Alarmed_Prize)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 7:54pm UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/cant-execute-groupadd-error-on-linux/80269/8 "2026-09-26T19:54:14Z")
Yeah I did it like this
```auto
echo 'export PATH="prefix/etc/profile.d/nix.sh:$PATH"' >> ~/.profile
source ~/.profile
```
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### Author:  [@NobbZ](https://discourse.nixos.org/u/NobbZ)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2026, 3:07am UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/cant-execute-groupadd-error-on-linux/80269/9 "2026-09-27T03:07:56Z")
That doesn’t source the script, that adds it as a location to look for executables ton`PATH`.