Welcome to the Linux Foundation Forum!

Root versus Superuser

What is the difference between superuser and root?

The context of the question...

On this discussion about file flags, is states that an Immutable flags means A file with the immutable attribute cannot be modified (not even by root). ... Only the superuser can set or clear this attribute.

What I am finding when i search on-line is that root and superuser are one and the same. Here are a couple examples of answers that I am finding...

Example on StackExchange

Example on AskUbuntu


  • Hi @teachernightowl ,

    The superuser is a privileged account that has unrestricted access to the OS and the resources of it. The default username for the superuser is "root". You can have more than one privileged user on a Linux system, but not using the same UID (which is "0" for root).

    Regarding the example you are referring to ("chattr" on Chapter 18), it means that even root can't modify a file with the "i" flag enabled ("i" for immutable). But root can change the flag, so it can be modified again.

    Many regards,


Upcoming Training