Quick Tip

Harnessing `stat` for Instant File Metadata

Challenge: You often need to quickly check file permissions, ownership, size, or modification times without having to remember lengthy command options or navigate through multiple `ls` flags.

The Solution: The `stat` command provides a concise and detailed overview of file metadata.

stat [filename]

Why it works: `stat` directly queries the file system’s inode information, presenting a comprehensive set of details including access, modify, and change times, file type, permissions, number of hard links, user and group ownership, and size in bytes.

Pro-Tip: Use `stat -c “%a %U %G %s %y %n” [filename]` for a custom, human-readable output of permissions, owner, group, size, last modification date, and filename.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 5/2/2026