# setfiles

## NAME



           setfiles - set SELinux file security contexts.
    


## SYNOPSIS



           **setfiles**[**-c** _policy_] [**-C**] [**-d**] [**-l**] [**-m**] [**-n**] [**-e** _directory_] [**-E**]
           [**-p**] [**-s**] [**-v**] [**-W**] [**-F**] [**-U**] [**-I** |**-D**] [**-T** _nthreads_] _spec_file_
           _pathname_ ...
    


## DESCRIPTION



           This manual page describes the **setfiles** program.
    
           This program is primarily used to initialize the security context
           fields (extended attributes) on one or more filesystems (or parts
           of them).  Usually it is initially run as part of the SELinux
           installation process (a step commonly known as labeling).
    
           It can also be run at any other time to correct inconsistent
           labels, to add support for newly-installed policy or, by using the
           **-n** option, to passively check whether the file contexts are all
           set as specified by the active policy (default behavior) or by
           some other policy (see the **-c** option).
    
           If a file object does not have a context, **setfiles** will write the
           default context to the file object's extended attributes. If a
           file object has a context, **setfiles** will only modify the type
           portion of the security context.  The **-U** option will also modify
           the user and role portions of the security context.  The **-F** option
           will force a replacement of the entire context, including the
           range portion of the security context and modify customizable
           files.
    


## OPTIONS



           **-c** check the validity of the contexts against the specified
                  binary policy.
    
           **-C** If only relabeling errors are encountered during the file
                  tree walks, exit with status **1** rather than **255**.
    
           **-d** show what specification matched each file.
    
           **-e** _directory_
                  directory to exclude (repeat option for more than one
                  directory).
    
           **-E** treat conflicting specifications as errors, such as where
                  two hardlinks for the same inode have different contexts.
    
           **-f** _infilename_
                  _infilename_ contains a list of files to be processed. Use
                  “**-** ” for **stdin**.
    
           **-F** Force reset of context to match file_context for
                  customizable files, and the default file context, changing
                  the user, role, range portion as well as the type.
    
           **-U** In addition to the type portion also change the user and
                  role portions, but not the range portion.
    
           **-h, -?** display usage information and exit.
    
           **-i** ignore files that do not exist.
    
           **-I** ignore digest to force checking of labels even if the
                  stored SHA1 digest matches the specfiles SHA1 digest. The
                  digest will then be updated provided there are no errors.
                  See the **NOTES** section for further details.
    
           **-D** Set or update any directory SHA1 digests. Use this option
                  to enable usage of the _security.sehash_ extended attribute.
    
           **-l** log changes in file labels to syslog.
    
           **-m** do not read **/proc/mounts** to obtain a list of non-seclabel
                  mounts to be excluded from relabeling checks.  Setting this
                  option is useful where there is a non-seclabel fs mounted
                  with a seclabel fs mounted on a directory below this.
    
           **-n** don't change any file labels (passive check).
    
           **-o** _outfilename_
                  Deprecated - This option is no longer supported.
    
           **-p** show progress by printing the number of files in 1k blocks
                  unless relabeling the entire OS, that will then show the
                  approximate percentage complete. Note that the **-p** and **-v**
                  options are mutually exclusive.
    
           **-q** Deprecated and replaced by **-v**. Has no effect on other
                  options or on program behavior.
    
           **-r** _rootpath_
                  use an alternate root path. Used in meta-selinux for
                  OpenEmbedded/Yocto builds to label files under _rootpath_ as
                  if they were at **/**
    
           **-s** take a list of files from standard input instead of using a
                  pathname from the command line (equivalent to “**-f -** ” ).
    
           **-v** show changes in file labels and output any inode
                  association parameters.  Note that the **-v** and **-p** options
                  are mutually exclusive.
    
           **-W** display warnings about entries that had no matching files
                  by outputting the selabel_stats(3) results.
    
           **-0** the separator for the input items is assumed to be the null
                  character (instead of the white space).  The quotes and the
                  backslash characters are also treated as normal characters
                  that can form valid input.  This option finally also
                  disables the end of file string, which is treated like any
                  other argument.  Useful when input items might contain
                  white space, quote marks or backslashes.  The **-print0**
                  option of GNU **find** produces input suitable for this mode.
    
           **-T** _nthreads_
                  use up to _nthreads_ threads.  Specify 0 to create as many
                  threads as there are available CPU cores; 1 to use only a
                  single thread (default); or any positive number to use the
                  given number of threads (if possible).
    


## ARGUMENTS



           _spec_file_
                  The specification file which contains lines of the
                  following form:
    
                  _regexp_ [_type_] _context_ | **< <none>>**
                         The regular expression is anchored at both ends.
                         The optional _type_ field specifies the file type as
                         shown in the mode field by the ls(1) program, e.g.
                         **--** to match only regular files or **-d** to match only
                         directories.  The _context_ can be an ordinary
                         security context or the string **< <none>> **to specify
                         that the file is not to have its context changed.
                         The last matching specification is used. If there
                         are multiple hard links to a file that match
                         different specifications and those specifications
                         indicate different security contexts, then a warning
                         is displayed but the file is still labeled based on
                         the last matching specification other than **< <none>>**.
    
           _pathname_ ...
                  The pathname for the root directory of each file system to
                  be relabeled or a specific directory within a filesystem
                  that should be recursively descended and relabeled or the
                  pathname of a file that should be relabeled.  Not used if
                  the **-f** or the **-s** option is used.
    


## EXIT STATUS



           **setfiles** exits with status **0** if it encounters no errors. Fatal
           errors result in status **255**.  Labeling errors encountered during
           file tree walk(s) result in status **1** if the **-C** option is specified
           and no other kind of error is encountered, and in status **255**
           otherwise.
    


## NOTES



           1.  **setfiles** operates recursively on directories. Paths leading up
               the final component of the file(s) are not canonicalized
               before labeling.
    
           2.  If the _pathname_ specifies the root directory and the **-v** option
               is set and the audit system is running, then an audit event is
               automatically logged stating that a "mass relabel" took place
               using the message label **FS_RELABEL**.
    
           3.  To improve performance when relabeling file systems
               recursively the **-D** option to **setfiles** will cause it to store a
               SHA1 digest of the **spec_file** set in an extended attribute
               named _security.sehash_ on each directory specified in
               _pathname_ ...  once the relabeling has been completed
               successfully. These digests will be checked should **setfiles -D**
               be rerun with the same _spec_file_ and _pathname_ parameters. See
               selinux_restorecon(3) for further details.
    
               The **-I** option will ignore the SHA1 digest from each directory
               specified in _pathname_ ...  and provided the **-n** option is NOT
               set, files will be relabeled as required with the digests then
               being updated provided there are no errors.
    


## EXAMPLE



           Fix labeling of /var/www/ including all sub-directories, using targeted policy file context definitions and list all context changes
           # setfiles -v /etc/selinux/targeted/contexts/files/file_contexts /var/www/
           List mislabeled files in user home directory and what the label should be based on targeted policy file context definitions
           # setfiles -nv /etc/selinux/targeted/contexts/files/file_contexts ~
           Fix labeling of files listed in file_list file, ignoring any that do not exist
           # setfiles -vif file_list /etc/selinux/targeted/contexts/files/file_contexts
    


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