su(1)

NAME
     su - temporary become superuser or another user

SYNOPSIS
     su [-[e]] [user [shell-arguments ...]]

DESCRIPTION
     Su can be used to temporarily run a  shell  under  the  identity  of  the
     superuser or another user.  Unless the caller is a member of the operator
     group, one is prompted for the password of the  user-to-be.   Calls  that
     need  a  password  are  logged, whether they succeed or not.  The default
     user is root.  Further arguments are handed  to  the  shell.   The  shell
     started  is  the  login  shell  of  the user-to-be, the environment is by
     default passed on as is.

OPTIONS

     -    Constructs a new environment consisting of the PATH, USER,  LOGNAME,
          HOME,  SHELL,  TERM,  TERMCAP, and TZ variables.  The environment is
          the same as on a normal login, except that TERM, TERMCAP and TZ  are
          copied  from  the  current  environment if set.  The current working
          directory is changed to the user home directory, and  the  shell  is
          started as a login shell, with the first character a minus sign.

     -e   Like above, but a normal shell is started, not a login shell.

FILES

     /usr/adm/authlog         Log of security related events.

SEE ALSO
     sh(1), login(1).

AUTHOR
     Kees J. Bot (kjb@cs.vu.nl)