NAME
chflags
—
change file flags
SYNOPSIS
chflags |
[-h ] [-R
[-H | -L |
-P ]] flags
file ... |
DESCRIPTION
The chflags
utility modifies the file
flags of the listed files as specified by the flags
operand. The flags of a file dictate special
restrictions beyond those enforced by its mode/permissions. Only the
superuser can change the user flags on block and character devices.
You can use ls -lo
to see the flags of
existing files.
The options are as follows:
-H
- If the
-R
option is also specified, symbolic links on the command line are followed. Symbolic links encountered in the tree traversal are not followed. -h
- Treat symbolic links like other files: modify links instead of following
them. The
-h
and-R
options are mutually exclusive. -L
- If the
-R
option is also specified, all symbolic links are followed. -P
- If the
-R
option is also specified, no symbolic links are followed. -R
- Recurse. Where file is a directory, change the flags of the directory and all the files and directories in the file hierarchy below it.
Flags are a comma separated list of keywords. The following keywords are currently defined:
arch set the archived flag (superuser only) nodump set the nodump flag (owner or superuser only) sappnd set the system append-only flag (superuser only) schg set the system immutable flag (superuser only) uappnd set the user append-only flag (owner or superuser only) uchg set the user immutable flag (owner or superuser only)
The “arch” flag is for compatibility only, and currently has no effect.
A file with the “nodump” flag set will by default
only be backed up by
dump(8) during full backups. The -h
option of
dump(8) can be used to alter this.
An immutable file may not be changed, moved, or deleted. An append-only file is immutable except that data may be appended to it.
The superuser-settable “sappnd” and “schg” flags can be set at any time, but may only be cleared when the system is running at security level 0 or -1 (insecure or permanently insecure mode, respectively). For more information on setting the system security level, see securelevel(7).
Putting the letters “no” before a flag name causes the flag to be turned off. For example:
nouchg the immutable bit should be
cleared
The -H
, -L
, and
-P
options are ignored unless the
-R
option is specified. In addition, these options
override each other and the command's actions are determined by the last one
specified.
EXIT STATUS
The chflags
utility exits 0 on
success, and >0 if an error occurs.
SEE ALSO
ls(1), chflags(2), stat(2), fts(3), securelevel(7), symlink(7), dump(8)
HISTORY
The chflags
command first appeared in
4.4BSD.