Chown
Shell command for changing the owner of a file
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
chown /ˈtʃoʊn/, short for change owner, is a shell command for changing the owning user of Unix-based file system files – including special files such as directories.
Initial releaseNovember 3, 1971
| chown | |
|---|---|
Example usage of chown command | |
| Original authors | Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie |
| Developer | AT&T Bell Laboratories |
| Initial release | November 3, 1971 |
| Operating system | Unix and Unix-like, IBM i |
| Platform | Cross-platform |
| Type | Command |
The ownership of a file may only be altered by a super-user (such as via sudo). A regular user cannot give away their ownership of a file.[1]
The version of chown bundled in GNU coreutils was written by David MacKenzie and Jim Meyering.[2]
The command is available for Windows via UnxUtils.[3] The command was ported to IBM i.[4]
See also
- chgrp – Shell command for changing the group of a file
- chmod – Shell command for changing access permissions of a file
- List of POSIX commands
- takeown
