# File ownership & groups in linux

### File concept

Every file in Linux is managed by a specific user and a specific group.

#### **1. Display ownership and group information:**

```
$ ls -l file.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 root www-data 0 Feb 25 15:51 file.txt
```

This file is owned by the root user and belongs to the www-data group.

#### **2. Change the ownership of a file by using chown**

**Important:** ONLY root user or members of the `sudo group` may transfer ownership of a file

```
$ sudo chown robert file.txt
$ ls -l file.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 robert www-data 0 Feb 25 15:51 file.txt
```

**3. Changing the Group Ownership of a file by using chgrp**

All users on the system belong to at least one group. You can find out which groups you belong to using the following command: `groups username`

Change the group ownership of a specific file using the chgrp command

```
$ chgrp webdev file.txt
$ ls -l file.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 robert webdev 0 Feb 25 15:51 file.txt
```

The file file.txt now belongs to the `webdev` group.

### Most important:

Change both the **owner** and **group** of a file using just the `chown` command

```
$ sudo chown tito:editors file.txt
$ ls -l file.txt
-rw-rw-r-- 1 tito editors 0 Feb 25 15:51 file.txt
```