.\" $OpenBSD: chflags.1,v 1.8 1999/12/09 00:39:50 aaron Exp $ .\" $NetBSD: chflags.1,v 1.4 1995/08/31 22:50:22 jtc Exp $ .\" .\" Copyright (c) 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994 .\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. .\" .\" This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by .\" the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. .\" .\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without .\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions .\" are met: .\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. .\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the .\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. .\" 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software .\" must display the following acknowledgement: .\" This product includes software developed by the University of .\" California, Berkeley and its contributors. .\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors .\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software .\" without specific prior written permission. .\" .\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND .\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE .\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE .\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE .\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL .\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS .\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) .\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT .\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY .\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF .\" SUCH DAMAGE. .\" .\" @(#)chflags.1 8.4 (Berkeley) 5/2/95 .\" .Dd May 2, 1995 .Dt CHFLAGS 1 .Os .Sh NAME .Nm chflags .Nd change file flags .Sh SYNOPSIS .Nm chflags .Oo .Fl R .Op Fl H | Fl L | Fl P .Oc .Ar flags .Ar file Op Ar ... .Sh DESCRIPTION The .Nm utility modifies the file flags of the listed files as specified by the .Ar flags operand. The .Ar flags of a file dictate special restrictions beyond those enforced by its mode/permissions. .Pp The options are as follows: .Bl -tag -width Ds .It Fl R Recursively descend through any specified directory arguments. Change the flags of the file hierarchies rooted in the files instead of just the files themselves. .It Fl H If the .Fl R option is also specified, symbolic links on the command line are followed. (Symbolic links encountered in the tree traversal are not followed.) .It Fl L If the .Fl R option is also specified, all symbolic links are followed. .It Fl P If the .Fl R option is also specified, no symbolic links are followed. .El .Pp Flags are a comma separated list of keywords. The following keywords are currently defined: .Bd -literal -offset indent compact arch set the archived flag opaque set the opaque flag (owner or super-user only) nodump set the nodump flag (owner or super-user only) sappnd set the system append-only flag (super-user only) schg set the system immutable flag (super-user only) uappnd set the user append-only flag (owner or super-user only) uchg set the user immutable flag (owner or super-user only) .Ed .Pp Putting the letters .Dq no before an option causes the flag to be turned off. For example: .Bd -literal -offset indent compact nouchg the immutable bit should be cleared .Ed .Pp The .Dq sappnd and .Dq schg system flags may be set at any time, but normally may only be unset when the system is in single-user mode (see .Xr init 8 for details). .Pp Symbolic links do not have flags, so unless the .Fl H or .Fl L option is set, .Nm on a symbolic link always succeeds and has no effect. The .Fl H , .Fl L and .Fl P options are ignored unless the .Fl R option is specified. In addition, these options override each other and the command's actions are determined by the last one specified. .Pp Only the super-user can change the user flags on block and character devices. .Pp You can use "ls -lo" to see the flags of existing files. .Pp The .Nm utility exits 0 on success or >0 if an error occurred. .Sh SEE ALSO .Xr ls 1 , .Xr chflags 2 , .Xr stat 2 , .Xr fts 3 , .Xr symlink 7