Quick Tip

Instantly See File Permissions and Ownership with `stat`

Challenge: You need to quickly check the ownership and permissions of a file or directory without using `ls -l`, which can be verbose.

The Solution: Use the `stat` command.

stat <filename>

Why it works: The `stat` command provides detailed filesystem status for each file, including its size, blocks, I/O block size, access, modification, and change times, as well as device, inode number, number of hard links, file type, and access permissions. This includes the owner and group.

Pro-Tip: To get only the permission mode in octal format, use `stat -c ‘%a’ <filename>`.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 5/4/2026