Linux Commands: The Difference Between sudo -s and sudo -i

Both commands drop you into a root shell, but they set up that shell very differently.

sudo -s starts a shell as root, but keeps most of your original environment. It doesn’t change your working directory, doesn’t read root’s login files (.bash_profile, .profile), and often leaves $HOME pointing at your own home directory rather than /root.

sudo -s
pwd        # unchanged
echo $HOME # often still /home/youruser

sudo -i simulates a full login as root. It sets HOME, USER, LOGNAME, and PATH to root’s values, drops you into /root, and sources root’s login files as a proper login shell.

sudo -i
pwd        # /root
echo $HOME # /root

Rule of thumb: think of sudo -s like su, and sudo -i like su -.

Use sudo -i when you want a clean, authentic root environment for installing packages, editing system configs, running scripts that expect $HOME to be /root. 

Use sudo -s when you want root privileges without disturbing your current directory or environment. And whenever possible, skip the interactive shell entirely and just run sudo <command> — it's easier to audit and limits the blast radius of mistakes.

Neither command changes what you’re authorized to do; that’s controlled by /etc/sudoers. The difference is purely about environment setup, not security level.