Linux files and folders are assigned to an owner, a group, and other users. You can change the access permission for these files and folders based on the permission for each category or by changing their ownership. Changing the ownership of files and folders means assigning them to a new owner or group.
The chown and chgrp commands are the most common way to change the ownership of files and folders in Linux. These tools are available in all Linux and Unix-based operating systems, including macOS and BSDs. These are command-line tools, making them a convenient way to manage ownership in Linux.
Changing the ownership of files and folders requires administrative privileges. Therefore, using these commands with caution is advisable, as they can have unintended consequences if used incorrectly.
$ getent passwd root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin irc:x:39:39:ircd:/var/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin gnats:x:41:41:Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin systemd-timesync:x:100:101:systemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/usr/sbin/nologin systemd-network:x:101:103:systemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd:/usr/sbin/nologin systemd-resolve:x:102:104:systemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd:/usr/sbin/nologin messagebus:x:103:106::/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin syslog:x:104:110::/home/syslog:/usr/sbin/nologin _apt:x:105:65534::/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin tss:x:106:111:TPM software stack,,,:/var/lib/tpm:/bin/false uuidd:x:107:114::/run/uuidd:/usr/sbin/nologin tcpdump:x:108:115::/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin avahi-autoipd:x:109:117:Avahi autoip daemon,,,:/var/lib/avahi-autoipd:/usr/sbin/nologin usbmux:x:110:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/usr/sbin/nologin rtkit:x:111:118:RealtimeKit,,,:/proc:/usr/sbin/nologin dnsmasq:x:112:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/usr/sbin/nologin avahi:x:113:120:Avahi mDNS daemon,,,:/run/avahi-daemon:/usr/sbin/nologin cups-pk-helper:x:114:121:user for cups-pk-helper service,,,:/home/cups-pk-helper:/usr/sbin/nologin speech-dispatcher:x:115:29:Speech Dispatcher,,,:/run/speech-dispatcher:/bin/false kernoops:x:116:65534:Kernel Oops Tracking Daemon,,,:/:/usr/sbin/nologin saned:x:117:123::/var/lib/saned:/usr/sbin/nologin nm-openvpn:x:118:124:NetworkManager OpenVPN,,,:/var/lib/openvpn/chroot:/usr/sbin/nologin whoopsie:x:119:125::/nonexistent:/bin/false colord:x:120:126:colord colour management daemon,,,:/var/lib/colord:/usr/sbin/nologin sssd:x:121:127:SSSD system user,,,:/var/lib/sss:/usr/sbin/nologin geoclue:x:122:128::/var/lib/geoclue:/usr/sbin/nologin pulse:x:123:129:PulseAudio daemon,,,:/var/run/pulse:/usr/sbin/nologin hplip:x:124:7:HPLIP system user,,,:/run/hplip:/bin/false gnome-initial-setup:x:125:65534::/run/gnome-initial-setup/:/bin/false gdm:x:126:131:Gnome Display Manager:/var/lib/gdm3:/bin/false user:x:1000:1000:user,,,:/home/user:/bin/bash systemd-coredump:x:999:999:systemd Core Dumper:/:/usr/sbin/nologin sshd:x:127:65534::/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin shakir:x:1001:1001:shakir,,,:/home/shakir:/bin/bash
$ getent group root:x:0: daemon:x:1: bin:x:2: sys:x:3: adm:x:4:syslog,user tty:x:5: disk:x:6: lp:x:7: mail:x:8: news:x:9: uucp:x:10: man:x:12: proxy:x:13: kmem:x:15: dialout:x:20: fax:x:21: voice:x:22: cdrom:x:24:user floppy:x:25: tape:x:26: sudo:x:27:user,shakir audio:x:29:pulse dip:x:30:user www-data:x:33: backup:x:34: operator:x:37: list:x:38: irc:x:39: src:x:40: gnats:x:41: shadow:x:42: utmp:x:43: video:x:44: sasl:x:45: plugdev:x:46:user staff:x:50: games:x:60: users:x:100: nogroup:x:65534: systemd-timesync:x:101: systemd-journal:x:102: systemd-network:x:103: systemd-resolve:x:104: crontab:x:105: messagebus:x:106: input:x:107: kvm:x:108: render:x:109: syslog:x:110: tss:x:111: bluetooth:x:112: ssl-cert:x:113: uuidd:x:114: tcpdump:x:115: ssh:x:116: avahi-autoipd:x:117: rtkit:x:118: netdev:x:119: avahi:x:120: lpadmin:x:121:user scanner:x:122:saned saned:x:123: nm-openvpn:x:124: whoopsie:x:125: colord:x:126: sssd:x:127: geoclue:x:128: pulse:x:129: pulse-access:x:130: gdm:x:131: lxd:x:132:user user:x:1000: sambashare:x:133:user systemd-coredump:x:999: shakir:x:1001:
$ stat -c "%U:%G" /var/www/html/index.html root:root
$ sudo chown www-data /var/www/html/index.html
$ stat -c "%U:%G" /var/www/html/index.html www-data:root
$ sudo chgrp www-data /var/www/html/index.html
$ sudo chown www-data:www-data /var/www/html/
$ sudo chown www-data:www-data /var/www/html/*
$ sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/*
$ ls -l /var/www/html/ total 20 drwxr-xr-x 2 www-data www-data 4096 Jan 24 09:58 css -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 10918 Jan 23 19:57 index.html drwxr-xr-x 2 www-data www-data 4096 Jan 24 09:57 js
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