How To Change File Ownership In Linux | Chown Command

Changing file ownership in Linux is a common task, especially when managing files across different users. The chown command is the go-to tool for this job. Here's how you can use it:

1. Basic Syntax

The basic syntax for the chown command is as follows:

chown [options] [new_owner]:[new_group] file_name

• new_owner: The user who will own the file.
• new_group: (Optional) The group that will own the file.
• file_name: The name of the file or directory you want to change ownership for.

2. Changing Ownership

To change the ownership of a file named example.txt to user john, you would use:

sudo chown john example.txt

This command assigns john as the new owner of example.txt.

3. Changing Both Owner and Group

If you want to change both the owner and the group, use the following command:

sudo chown john:developers example.txt

This command changes the owner to john and the group to developers.

4. Changing Ownership Recursively

To change ownership of a directory and all its contents, use the -R option:

sudo chown -R john:developers /path/to/directory

This command will change the ownership of the directory and everything within it to john and the group developers.

5. Verifying Ownership

You can verify the ownership of a file using the ls -l command:

ls -l example.txt

This will display the file's owner and group, among other details.

Using the chown command with caution is important, especially when applying it recursively, as incorrect usage can result in access issues across the system.