File Attributes#

Commands:

  • chattr
  • lsattr

These are a few useful attributes. Not all filesystems support every attribute.

  • a - append only: File can only be opened for appending.
  • c - compressed: Enable filesystem-level compression for the file.
  • i - immutable: Cannot be modified, deleted, renamed, linked to. Can only be set by root.
  • j - data journaling: Use the journal for file data writes as well as metadata.
  • m - no compression: Disable filesystem-level compression for the file.
  • A - no atime update: The file's atime will not be modified.
  • C - no copy on write: Disable copy-on-write, for filesystems that support it.

See man chattr for a complete list of attributes and for more info on what each attribute does.

A common operation is to make a file immutable with:

chattr +i file

To remove an attribute on a file just change + to -.

Example:

[root@rhel9-a ~]# chattr +i /etc/passwd
[root@rhel9-a ~]# lsattr /etc/passwd
----i----------------- /etc/passwd