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13 .TH CHOWN 1 "Oct 25, 2017"
14 .SH NAME
15 chown \- change file ownership
16 .SH SYNOPSIS
17 .LP
18 .nf
19 \fB/usr/bin/chown\fR [\fB-fhR\fR] \fIowner\fR[:\fIgroup\fR] \fIfile\fR...
20 .fi
22 .LP
23 .nf
24 \fB/usr/bin/chown\fR \fB-s\fR [\fB-fhR\fR] \fIownersid\fR[:\fIgroupsid\fR] \fIfile\fR...
25 .fi
27 .LP
28 .nf
29 \fB/usr/bin/chown\fR \fB-R\fR [\fB-f\fR] [\fB-H\fR | \fB-L\fR | \fB-P\fR] \fIowner\fR[:\fIgroup\fR] \fIfile\fR...
30 .fi
32 .LP
33 .nf
34 \fB/usr/bin/chown\fR \fB-s\fR \fB-R\fR [\fB-f\fR] [\fB-H\fR | \fB-L\fR | \fB-P\fR] \fIownersid\fR[:\fIgroupsid\fR] \fIfile\fR...
35 .fi
37 .SS "ksh93"
38 .LP
39 .nf
40 \fBchown\fR [\fB-cflhmnvHLPRX\fR] [\fB-r\fR \fIfile\fR] \fIowner\fR[:\fIgroup\fR] \fIfile\fR...
41 .fi
43 .SH DESCRIPTION
44 .sp
45 .LP
46 The \fBchown\fR utility sets the user \fBID\fR of the file named by each
47 \fBfile\fR to the user \fBID\fR specified by \fIowner\fR, and, optionally, sets
48 the group \fBID\fR to that specified by \fIgroup\fR.
49 .sp
50 .LP
51 If \fBchown\fR is invoked by other than the super-user, the set-user-\fBID\fR
52 bit is cleared.
53 .sp
54 .LP
55 Only the owner of a file (or the super-user) can change the owner of that file.
56 .sp
57 .LP
58 The operating system has a configuration option
59 \fB{_POSIX_CHOWN_RESTRICTED}\fR, to restrict ownership changes. When this
60 option is in effect the owner of the file is prevented from changing the owner
61 \fBID\fR of the file. Only the super-user can arbitrarily change owner
62 \fBID\fRs whether or not this option is in effect. To set this configuration
63 option, include the following line in \fB/etc/system\fR:
64 .sp
65 .in +2
66 .nf
67 \fBset rstchown = 1\fR
68 .fi
69 .in -2
70 .sp
72 .sp
73 .LP
74 To disable this option, include the following line in \fB/etc/system\fR:
75 .sp
76 .in +2
77 .nf
78 \fBset rstchown = 0\fR
79 .fi
80 .in -2
81 .sp
83 .sp
84 .LP
85 \fB{_POSIX_CHOWN_RESTRICTED}\fR is enabled by default. See \fBsystem\fR(4) and
86 \fBfpathconf\fR(2).
87 .SS "ksh93"
88 .sp
89 .LP
90 The \fBchown\fR built-in in \fBksh93\fR is associated with the \fB/bin\fR and
91 \fB/usr/bin\fR paths. It is invoked when \fBchown\fR is executed without a
92 pathname prefix and the pathname search finds a \fB/bin/chown\fR or
93 /usr/bin/chown executable.
94 .sp
95 .LP
96 \fBchown\fR changes the ownership of each file to \fIowner\fR. \fIowner\fR can
97 be specified as either a user name or a numeric user id. The group ownership of
98 each file can also be changed to \fIgroup\fR by appending \fI:group\fR to the
99 user name.
100 .SH OPTIONS
101 .sp
102 .LP
103 The following options are supported:
104 .sp
105 .ne 2
106 .na
107 \fB\fB-f\fR\fR
108 .ad
109 .RS 6n
110 Force. Does not report errors.
111 .RE
113 .sp
114 .ne 2
115 .na
116 \fB\fB-h\fR\fR
117 .ad
118 .RS 6n
119 If the file is a symbolic link, this option changes the owner of the symbolic
120 link. Without this option, the owner of the file referenced by the symbolic
121 link is changed.
122 .RE
124 .sp
125 .ne 2
126 .na
127 \fB\fB-H\fR\fR
128 .ad
129 .RS 6n
130 If the file specified on the command line is a symbolic link referencing a file
131 of type directory, this option changes the owner of the directory referenced by
132 the symbolic link and all the files in the file hierarchy below it. If a
133 symbolic link is encountered when traversing a file hierarchy, the owner of the
134 target file is changed, but no recursion takes place.
135 .RE
137 .sp
138 .ne 2
139 .na
140 \fB\fB-L\fR\fR
141 .ad
142 .RS 6n
143 If the file is a symbolic link, this option changes the owner of the file
144 referenced by the symbolic link. If the file specified on the command line, or
145 encountered during the traversal of the file hierarchy, is a symbolic link
146 referencing a file of type directory, then this option changes the owner of the
147 directory referenced by the symbolic link and all files in the file hierarchy
148 below it.
149 .RE
151 .sp
152 .ne 2
153 .na
154 \fB\fB-P\fR\fR
155 .ad
156 .RS 6n
157 If the file specified on the command line or encountered during the traversal
158 of a file hierarchy is a symbolic link, this option changes the owner of the
159 symbolic link. This option does not follow the symbolic link to any other part
160 of the file hierarchy.
161 .RE
163 .sp
164 .ne 2
165 .na
166 \fB\fB-s\fR\fR
167 .ad
168 .RS 6n
169 The owner and/or group arguments are Windows SID strings. This option requires
170 a file system that supports storing SIDs, such as ZFS.
171 .RE
173 .sp
174 .LP
175 Specifying more than one of the mutually-exclusive options \fB-H\fR, \fB-L\fR,
176 or \fB-P\fR is not considered an error. The last option specified determines
177 the behavior of \fBchown\fR.
178 .sp
179 .LP
180 .sp
181 .ne 2
182 .na
183 \fB\fB-R\fR\fR
184 .ad
185 .RS 6n
186 Recursive. \fBchown\fR descends through the directory, and any subdirectories,
187 setting the specified ownership \fBID\fR as it proceeds. When a symbolic link
188 is encountered, the owner of the target file is changed, unless the \fB-h\fR or
189 \fB-P\fR option is specified. Unless the \fB-H\fR, \fB-L\fR, or \fB-P\fR option
190 is specified, the \fB-L\fR option is used as the default mode.
191 .RE
193 .SS "ksh93"
194 .sp
195 .LP
196 The following options are supported by the \fBksh93\fR built-in \fBchown\fR
197 command:
198 .sp
199 .ne 2
200 .na
201 \fB\fB-c\fR\fR
202 .ad
203 .br
204 .na
205 \fB\fB--changes\fR\fR
206 .ad
207 .sp .6
208 .RS 4n
209 Describe only files whose ownership actually changes.
210 .RE
212 .sp
213 .ne 2
214 .na
215 \fB\fB-f\fR\fR
216 .ad
217 .br
218 .na
219 \fB\fB--quiet | silent\fR\fR
220 .ad
221 .sp .6
222 .RS 4n
223 Do not report files whose ownership fails to change.
224 .RE
226 .sp
227 .ne 2
228 .na
229 \fB\fB-l | h\fR\fR
230 .ad
231 .br
232 .na
233 \fB\fB--symlink\fR\fR
234 .ad
235 .sp .6
236 .RS 4n
237 Change the ownership of the symbolic links on systems that support this option.
238 .RE
240 .sp
241 .ne 2
242 .na
243 \fB\fB-m\fR\fR
244 .ad
245 .br
246 .na
247 \fB\fB--map\fR\fR
248 .ad
249 .sp .6
250 .RS 4n
251 Interpret the first operand as a file that contains a map of:
252 .sp
253 .in +2
254 .nf
255 \fIfrom_uid\fR:\fIfrom_gid to_uid:to_gid\fR
256 .fi
257 .in -2
258 .sp
260 pairs. Ownership of files matching the \fIfrom\fR part of any pair is changed
261 to the corresponding \fIto\fR part of the pair. The process stops at the first
262 match for each file. Unmatched files are silently ignored.
263 .RE
265 .sp
266 .ne 2
267 .na
268 \fB\fB-n\fR\fR
269 .ad
270 .br
271 .na
272 \fB\fB--show\fR\fR
273 .ad
274 .sp .6
275 .RS 4n
276 Show actions but do not execute.
277 .RE
279 .sp
280 .ne 2
281 .na
282 \fB\fB-r\fR\fR
283 .ad
284 .br
285 .na
286 \fB\fB--reference=file\fR\fR
287 .ad
288 .sp .6
289 .RS 4n
290 Omit the explicit ownership operand and use the ownership of the file instead.
291 .RE
293 .sp
294 .ne 2
295 .na
296 \fB\fB-v\fR\fR
297 .ad
298 .br
299 .na
300 \fB\fB--verbose\fR\fR
301 .ad
302 .sp .6
303 .RS 4n
304 Describe the changed permissions of all files.
305 .RE
307 .sp
308 .ne 2
309 .na
310 \fB\fB-H\fR\fR
311 .ad
312 .br
313 .na
314 \fB\fB--metaphysical\fR\fR
315 .ad
316 .sp .6
317 .RS 4n
318 Follow symbolic links for command arguments. Otherwise do not follow symbolic
319 links when traversing directories.
320 .RE
322 .sp
323 .ne 2
324 .na
325 \fB\fB-L\fR\fR
326 .ad
327 .br
328 .na
329 \fB\fB--logical | follow\fR\fR
330 .ad
331 .sp .6
332 .RS 4n
333 Follow symbolic links when traversing directories.
334 .RE
336 .sp
337 .ne 2
338 .na
339 \fB\fB-P\fR\fR
340 .ad
341 .br
342 .na
343 \fB\fB--physical | nofollow\fR\fR
344 .ad
345 .sp .6
346 .RS 4n
347 Do not follow symbolic links when traversing directories.
348 .RE
350 .sp
351 .ne 2
352 .na
353 \fB\fB-R\fR\fR
354 .ad
355 .br
356 .na
357 \fB\fB--recursive\fR\fR
358 .ad
359 .sp .6
360 .RS 4n
361 Recursively change ownership of directories and their contents.
362 .RE
364 .sp
365 .ne 2
366 .na
367 \fB\fB-X\fR\fR
368 .ad
369 .br
370 .na
371 \fB\fB--test\fR\fR
372 .ad
373 .sp .6
374 .RS 4n
375 Canonicalize output for testing.
376 .RE
378 .SH OPERANDS
379 .sp
380 .LP
381 The following operands are supported:
382 .sp
383 .ne 2
384 .na
385 \fB\fIowner\fR[\fB:\fR\fIgroup\fR]\fR
386 .ad
387 .RS 17n
388 A user \fBID\fR and optional group \fBID\fR to be assigned to \fBfile\fR. The
389 \fIowner\fR portion of this operand must be a user name from the user database
390 or a numeric user \fBID\fR. Either specifies a user \fBID\fR to be given to
391 each file named by \fIfile\fR. If a numeric \fIowner\fR exists in the user
392 database as a user name, the user \fBID\fR number associated with that user
393 name is used as the user \fBID\fR. Similarly, if the \fIgroup\fR portion of
394 this operand is present, it must be a group name from the group database or a
395 numeric group \fBID\fR. Either specifies a group \fBID\fR to be given to each
396 file. If a numeric group operand exists in the group database as a group name,
397 the group \fBID\fR number associated with that group name is used as the group
398 \fBID\fR.
399 .RE
401 .sp
402 .ne 2
403 .na
404 \fB\fIfile\fR\fR
405 .ad
406 .RS 17n
407 A path name of a file whose user \fBID\fR is to be modified.
408 .RE
410 .SH USAGE
411 .sp
412 .LP
413 See \fBlargefile\fR(5) for the description of the behavior of \fBchown\fR when
414 encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte ( 2^31 bytes).
415 .SH EXAMPLES
416 .LP
417 \fBExample 1 \fRChanging Ownership of All Files in the Hierarchy
418 .sp
419 .LP
420 The following command changes ownership of all files in the hierarchy,
421 including symbolic links, but not the targets of the links:
423 .sp
424 .in +2
425 .nf
426 example% \fBchown \(miR \(mih \fIowner\fR[:group] \fIfile\fR...\fR
427 .fi
428 .in -2
429 .sp
431 .SH ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
432 .sp
433 .LP
434 See \fBenviron\fR(5) for descriptions of the following environment variables
435 that affect the execution of \fBchown\fR: \fBLANG\fR, \fBLC_ALL\fR,
436 \fBLC_CTYPE\fR, \fBLC_MESSAGES\fR, and \fBNLSPATH\fR.
437 .SH EXIT STATUS
438 .sp
439 .LP
440 The following exit values are returned:
441 .sp
442 .ne 2
443 .na
444 \fB\fB0\fR\fR
445 .ad
446 .RS 6n
447 The utility executed successfully and all requested changes were made.
448 .RE
450 .sp
451 .ne 2
452 .na
453 \fB\fB>0\fR\fR
454 .ad
455 .RS 6n
456 An error occurred.
457 .RE
459 .SH FILES
460 .sp
461 .ne 2
462 .na
463 \fB\fB/etc/passwd\fR\fR
464 .ad
465 .RS 15n
466 System password file
467 .RE
469 .SH ATTRIBUTES
470 .sp
471 .LP
472 See \fBattributes\fR(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
473 .SS "/usr/bin/chown"
474 .sp
476 .sp
477 .TS
478 box;
479 c | c
480 l | l .
481 ATTRIBUTE TYPE ATTRIBUTE VALUE
482 _
483 CSI Enabled. See \fBNOTES\fR.
484 _
485 Interface Stability Committed
486 _
487 Standard See \fBstandards\fR(5).
488 .TE
490 .SS "ksh93"
491 .sp
493 .sp
494 .TS
495 box;
496 c | c
497 l | l .
498 ATTRIBUTE TYPE ATTRIBUTE VALUE
499 _
500 Interface Stability See below.
501 .TE
503 .sp
504 .LP
505 The \fBksh93\fR built-in binding to \fB/bin\fR and \fB/usr/bin\fR is Volatile.
506 The built-in interfaces are Uncommitted.
507 .SH SEE ALSO
508 .sp
509 .LP
510 \fBchgrp\fR(1), \fBchmod\fR(1), \fBksh93\fR(1), \fBchown\fR(2),
511 \fBfpathconf\fR(2), \fBpasswd\fR(4), \fBsystem\fR(4), \fBattributes\fR(5),
512 \fBenviron\fR(5), \fBlargefile\fR(5), \fBstandards\fR(5)
513 .SH NOTES
514 .sp
515 .LP
516 \fBchown\fR is \fBCSI\fR-enabled except for the \fIowner\fR and \fIgroup\fR
517 names.