GETFACL(1) User Commands GETFACL(1)

NAME

getfacl - display discretionary file information

SYNOPSIS

getfacl [-ad] file...

DESCRIPTION

For each argument that is a regular file, special file, or named pipe,
the getfacl utility displays the owner, the group, and the Access Control
List (ACL). For each directory argument, getfacl displays the owner, the
group, and the ACL and/or the default ACL. Only directories contain
default ACLs.


The getfacl utility will fail if executed on a file system that supports
NFSv4 ACLs. See acl(7) for a description of the difference between the
older POSIX-draft ACLs and the newer NFSv4 ACLs. The ls(1) utility, when
used with the -v or -V options, will display ACLs on all types of file
system.


The getfacl utility may be executed on a file system that does not
support ACLs. It reports the ACL based on the base permission bits.


With no options specified, getfacl displays the filename, the file owner,
the file group owner, and both the ACL and the default ACL, if it exists.

OPTIONS

The following options are supported:

-a
Displays the filename, the file owner, the file group owner, and
the ACL of the file.


-d
Displays the filename, the file owner, the file group owner, and
the default ACL of the file, if it exists.

OPERANDS

The following operands are supported:

file
The path name of a regular file, special file, or named pipe.

OUTPUT

The format for ACL output is as follows:

# file: filename
# owner: uid
# group: gid
user::perm
user:uid:perm
group::perm
group:gid:perm
mask:perm
other:perm
default:user::perm
default:user:uid:perm
default:group::perm
default:group:gid:perm
default:mask:perm
default:other:perm


When multiple files are specified on the command line, a blank line
separates the ACLs for each file.


The ACL entries are displayed in the order in which they are evaluated
when an access check is performed. The default ACL entries that may exist
on a directory have no effect on access checks.


The first three lines display the filename, the file owner, and the file
group owner. Notice that when only the -d option is specified and the
file has no default ACL, only these three lines are displayed.


The user entry without a user ID indicates the permissions that are
granted to the file owner. One or more additional user entries indicate
the permissions that are granted to the specified users.


The group entry without a group ID indicates the permissions that are
granted to the file group owner. One or more additional group entries
indicate the permissions that are granted to the specified groups.


The mask entry indicates the ACL mask permissions. These are the maximum
permissions allowed to any user entries except the file owner, and to any
group entries, including the file group owner. These permissions restrict
the permissions specified in other entries.


The other entry indicates the permissions that are granted to others.


The default entries may exist only for directories. These entries
indicate the default entries that are added to a file created within the
directory.


The uid is a login name or a user ID if there is no entry for the uid in
the system password file, /etc/passwd. The gid is a group name or a group
ID if there is no entry for the gid in the system group file, /etc/group.
The perm is a three character string composed of the letters representing
the separate discretionary access rights: r (read), w (write), x
(execute/search), or the place holder character -. The perm is displayed
in the following order: rwx. If a permission is not granted by an ACL
entry, the place holder character appears.


If you use the chmod(1) command to change the file group owner
permissions on a file with ACL entries, both the file group owner
permissions and the ACL mask are changed to the new permissions. Be aware
that the new ACL mask permissions may change the effective permissions
for additional users and groups who have ACL entries on the file.


In order to indicate that the ACL mask restricts an ACL entry, getfacl
displays an additional tab character, pound sign (#), and the actual
permissions granted, following the entry.

EXAMPLES

Example 1: Displaying file information

Given file foo, with an ACL six entries long, the command


host% getfacl foo


would print:


# file: foo
# owner: shea
# group: staff
user::rwx
user:spy:---
user:mookie:r--
group::r--
mask::rw-
other::---

Example 2: Displaying information after chmod command

Continue with the above example, after chmod 700 foo was issued:


host% getfacl foo


would print:


# file: foo
# owner: shea
# group: staff
user::rwx
user:spy:---
user:mookie:r-- #effective:---
group::---
mask::---
other::---

Example 3: Displaying information when ACL contains default entries

Given directory doo, with an ACL containing default entries, the command


host% getfacl -d doo


would print:


# file: doo
# owner: shea
# group: staff
default:user::rwx
default:user:spy:---
default:user:mookie:r--
default:group::r--
default:mask::---
default:other::---

FILES

/etc/passwd
system password file


/etc/group
group file

ATTRIBUTES

See attributes(7) for descriptions of the following attributes:


+--------------------+-----------------+
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
+--------------------+-----------------+
|Interface Stability | Evolving |
+--------------------+-----------------+

SEE ALSO

chmod(1), ls(1), setfacl(1), acl(2), aclsort(3SEC), group(5), passwd(5),
acl(7), attributes(7)

NOTES

The output from getfacl is in the correct format for input to the setfacl
-f command. If the output from getfacl is redirected to a file, the file
may be used as input to setfacl. In this way, a user may easily assign
one file's ACL to another file.

February 8, 2020 GETFACL(1)