accton command in Linux with Examples

'accton' is one of important Linux/Unix command which is used by the administrator to monitor user activities. It is used to turn on or turn off the process for accounting or change the info process accounting file. When the command is run in the terminal without any argument, it stops the process accounting.

Syntax

accton [OPTION] on|off| file_name

where,

• on: Turns on process accounting using the default or specified file.
• off: Turns off process accounting.
• file_name: Specifies the file where process accounting data should be saved.

The system’s default process accounting file is saved in ‘/var/log/account/pacct‘. The default path of the file might change with different Linux platforms i.e. it might be different for Red Hat or other Linux based platforms. Usually, the process accounting is enabled automatically at boot time by the system itself.

Linux accton Command Examples

Example 1: Turning On Process Accounting

Input:

Output:

Example 2: To turn off the process for accounting.

Input:

Output:

Example 3: To save process accounting in a particular file

Let's say the file name is 'geeksforgeeks.txt' we can use the following command.

accton geeksforgeeks.txt

Input:

Output:

Common Options Available with the accton Command

The 'accton' command supports several useful options to manage process accounting:

1. -h, –help

Shows help and exit.

2. -V, --version

Show version and exit.

Conclusion

The accton command is an essential tool for system administrators who need to monitor, log, and analyze user activities and system processes. The accton command provides a simple yet powerful way to manage process accounting in Linux whether you're managing security, auditing resource usage, or simply monitoring user behavior.