Privacy Policy
© 2025 linux101.dev

Changing File Ownership with `chown`

The `chown` command is used to change the owner and/or group of a file or directory. This command is typically only available to the root user.

Basic `chown` Usage

Change file owner

sudo chown [new_owner] [file]

Changes the owner of the specified file to `new_owner`.

Change file group

sudo chown :[new_group] [file]

Changes the group of the specified file to `new_group`. Note the colon `:` before the group name.

Change owner and group simultaneously

sudo chown [new_owner]:[new_group] [file]

Changes both the owner and the group of a file in one command.

Recursive Ownership Change

Change ownership of a directory and its contents

sudo chown -R [new_owner]:[new_group] [directory]

The `-R` flag (recursive) changes the owner and group of the directory and all files and subdirectories within it.