Group not listed in groups command

Question

On Ubuntu 22.04, I've installed docker, added myself to the docker group with sudo usermod -a -G docker user, and logged out/in.

However, I still get "permission denied" errors when running docker commands. In /etc/group, I see

docker:x:133:user

but docker doesn't show up when I run groups.

Does the command newgrp docker fix the issue? This should log one into a new group without needing the logout/back in cycle. — thrig, Jul 21 '22 at 14:08
If you logged out from your desktop environment, it’s possible you picked your systemd user session back up when you logged in again, so your groups didn’t change. — Stephen Kitt, Jul 21 '22 at 14:21
You could look at the start time of your user session: systemctl status --user, and look for “Since:” near the top. — Stephen Kitt, Aug 05 '22 at 07:50

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 16 '23 at 20:14

Jumping on what @Stephen-Kitt said, systemctl status --user confirmed that after logging out and back in picked up my old session. Even after a reboot!

I read somewhere rebooting from the terminal will start a new user session and thereby picking up your new groups.

sudo reboot now fixed it for me.

groups then finally had the docker group in for me in a new terminal session.

Group not listed in groups command

1 Answers1