The stat command in Linux provides detailed information about a file or filesystem, including file size, permissions, ownership, and timestamps. It is useful for quickly checking metadata of files and directories.
Contents
- Display File Information
- Display Filesystem Information
- Show Only File Size
- Show File Permissions in Octal Format
- Show File Owner and Group
- Display File Inode Number
- Show File Access Time
- Show File Modification Time
- Show File Change Time
- Display Multiple Custom Attributes
- Show Filesystem Block Size
- Display Filesystem Free Space
- Show Filesystem Total Space
- Compare File Timestamps
- Display Information for Multiple Files
- Show Symbolic Link Information
Display File Information
stat file.txt
Shows details like size, blocks, inode, permissions, and timestamps for file.txt.
Display Filesystem Information
stat -f / -f: Displays filesystem information for the root (/) directory.
Show Only File Size
stat -c %s file.txt -c %s: Outputs only the file size in bytes.
Show File Permissions in Octal Format
stat -c %A file.txt -c %A: Displays file permissions in human-readable format (e.g.,-rw-r--r--).
Show File Owner and Group
stat -c %U:%G file.txt -c %U:%G: Displays the owner and group of the file (e.g.,user:group).
Display File Inode Number
stat -c %i file.txt -c %i: Outputs the inode number of the file.
Show File Access Time
stat -c %x file.txt -c %x: Displays the last access time of the file.
Show File Modification Time
stat -c %y file.txt -c %y: Displays the last modification time of the file.
Show File Change Time
stat -c %z file.txt -c %z: Displays the last status change time (e.g., permissions or ownership changes).
Display Multiple Custom Attributes
stat -c "Size: %s bytes, Owner: %U, Permissions: %A" file.txt
Outputs custom-formatted information about the file.
Show Filesystem Block Size
stat -f -c %S / -f -c %S: Displays the block size of the root (/) filesystem.
Display Filesystem Free Space
stat -f -c %a / -f -c %a: Shows the number of free blocks on the root (/) filesystem.
Show Filesystem Total Space
stat -f -c %b / -f -c %b: Displays the total number of blocks on the root (/) filesystem.
Compare File Timestamps
stat -c "Access: %x, Modify: %y, Change: %z" file.txt
Outputs all three timestamps (access, modify, change) for comparison.
Display Information for Multiple Files
stat file1.txt file2.txt
Shows details for both file1.txt and file2.txt.
Show Symbolic Link Information
stat -L symlink -L: Follows the symbolic link and displays information about the target file.
Key Notes:
- Custom Formatting: Use
-cto specify custom output formats. - Filesystem Info: Use
-fto query filesystem details. - Timestamps: Access (
%x), Modify (%y), and Change (%z) times are useful for debugging.
