Quick Tip

Quickly View File Ownership and Permissions with `stat`

Challenge: You need to quickly determine the owner, group, and permissions of a file or directory without resorting to complex commands or navigating into the file’s properties.

The Solution: The `stat` command is your go-to for instantaneous file metadata.

stat <filename>

Why it works: `stat` retrieves and displays detailed information about a file, including its inode number, blocks used, access permissions, owner, group, last accessed/modified/changed times, and more, in a human-readable format.

Pro-Tip: Use `stat -c ‘%U:%G %A %n’ <filename>` to display just the owner, group, permissions, and filename for a more concise output.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 4/29/2026