OSF

NAME

chown − Changes the owner of files or directories

SYNOPSIS

chown [−fR] owner[:group] file ... 

The chown command changes the owner of the specified files or directories to the specified username or user ID. 

DESCRIPTION

Only a user with superuser authority can use the chown command. 

The owner argument must be a valid username or a valid numerical user ID. The optional group argument must be a valid group name or a valid numerical group ID. 

FLAGS

−fTurns off error reporting. 

−RDescends recursively through its directory arguments, setting the specified owner. When symbolic links are encountered, their ownership is changed, but they are not traversed. 

EXAMPLES

To change the owner of the file program.c, enter:

chown steffan program.c

The user access permissions for program.c now apply to steffan. As the owner, steffan can use the chmod command to permit or deny the other users access to program.c.  (See the chmod command for details.) 

FILES

/etc/passwdContains usernames and numeric user IDs. 

RELATED INFORMATION

Commands: chgrp(1), chmod(1), passwd(1)/chfn(1)/chsh(1). 

Functions: chown(2), chmod(2).