Quick Tip

Quick File Ownership & Permissions with `stat`

Challenge: You need to quickly check the ownership and permissions of a file or directory without complex `ls` command combinations.

The Solution: Use the `stat` command with the appropriate format specifiers.

stat -c "%U:%G %a %n" your_file_or_directory

Why it works: The `-c` option allows you to specify a custom output format. `%U` displays the owner’s username, `%G` displays the group’s name, `%a` displays the permissions in octal, and `%n` displays the filename.

Pro-Tip: To see all available format specifiers, simply run `stat –help`.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 5/11/2026