How to run specific command in shell script without sudo?

Question

I running an shell script it is being run as root user with sudo privilege. It has gem install command which is also being run as sudo.

But I want to run gem install [command] without sudo

#!/usr/bin/env bash
curl -sSL https://get.rvm.io | bash -s stable
rvm install stable
gem install jekyll

It is an configuration management script for vagrant.

Possible duplicate of Execute single command in shell script without sudo — Nick Volynkin
– Nick Volynkin, Commented Jan 15, 2017 at 23:17

jordi · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-29 07:25:47Z

3

If you want to run it as an non priviledged specific user you can use

sudo -u <username> command

answered Apr 29, 2016 at 7:25

jordi

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3 Comments

HlT Over a year ago

It has only one user, its root user.

jordi Over a year ago

I don't really understand what you are trying to do. sudo is for a (non root) user to be granted root permisions. If user is already root, then there is no difference in running with sudo or without it. As explained, you can use it for the root to run as another user. If there is no other user, then, as I understand, there is nothing sudo can do

HlT Over a year ago

Problem is with gem, when you install gem, shouldn't be using with sudo gem install..

chepner · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-29 11:32:46Z

You should not be running the entire script with sudo; the script itself should call sudo only for those commands that need elevated privileges.

For example:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
curl -sSL https://get.rvm.io > installer  # Does not need sudo
bash installer stable                     # Maybe needs sudo?
sudo rvm install stable                   # I assume this needs sudo
gem install jekyll

Just running code directly from an external resource without verifying it, let alone running it as root, is a big security risk. You should download the code first, verify it, then pass that as an argument to your script.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
bash "$1" stable         # Again, maybe needs sudo
sudo rvm install stable
gem install jekyll

To run the script:

curl -sSL https://get.rvm.io > installer
# Check if installer is the right script and is safe
myscript installer

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