# setfacl

## NAME



           setfacl - set file access control lists
    


## SYNOPSIS



           **setfacl**[-bkndRLPvh] [{-m|-x} acl_spec] [{-M|-X} acl_file] file
           ...
    
           **setfacl** --restore={file|-}
    


## DESCRIPTION



           This utility sets Access Control Lists (ACLs) of files and
           directories.  On the command line, a sequence of commands is
           followed by a sequence of files (which in turn can be followed by
           another sequence of commands, ...).
    
           The _-m_ and _-x_ options expect an ACL on the command line. Multiple
           ACL entries are separated by comma characters (`,'). The _-M_ and _-X_
           options read an ACL from a file or from standard input. The ACL
           entry format is described in Section ACL ENTRIES.
    
           The _--set_ and _--set-file_ options set the ACL of a file or a
           directory. The previous ACL is replaced.  ACL entries for this
           operation must include permissions.
    
           The _-m (--modify)_ and _-M (--modify-file)_ options modify the ACL of
           a file or directory.  ACL entries for this operation must include
           permissions.
    
           The _-x (--remove)_ and _-X (--remove-file)_ options remove ACL
           entries. It is not an error to remove an entry which does not
           exist.  Only ACL entries without the _perms_ field are accepted as
           parameters, unless POSIXLY_CORRECT is defined.
    
           When reading from files using the _-M_ and _-X_ options, setfacl
           accepts the output getfacl produces.  There is at most one ACL
           entry per line. After a Pound sign (`#'), everything up to the end
           of the line is treated as a comment.
    
           If setfacl is used on a file system which does not support ACLs,
           setfacl operates on the file mode permission bits. If the ACL does
           not fit completely in the permission bits, setfacl modifies the
           file mode permission bits to reflect the ACL as closely as
           possible, writes an error message to standard error, and returns
           with an exit status greater than 0.
    
       **PERMISSIONS**
           The file owner and processes capable of CAP_FOWNER are granted the
           right to modify ACLs of a file. This is analogous to the
           permissions required for accessing the file mode. (On current
           Linux systems, root is the only user with the CAP_FOWNER
           capability.)
    


## OPTIONS



           _-b, --remove-all_
               Remove all extended ACL entries. The base ACL entries of the
               owner, group and others are retained.
    
           _-k, --remove-default_
               Remove the Default ACL. If no Default ACL exists, no warnings
               are issued.
    
           _-n, --no-mask_
               Do not recalculate the effective rights mask. The default
               behavior of setfacl is to recalculate the ACL mask entry,
               unless a mask entry was explicitly given.  The mask entry is
               set to the union of all permissions of the owning group, and
               all named user and group entries. (These are exactly the
               entries affected by the mask entry).
    
           _--mask_
               Do recalculate the effective rights mask, even if an ACL mask
               entry was explicitly given. (See the _-n_ option.)
    
           _-d, --default_
               All operations apply to the Default ACL. Regular ACL entries
               in the input set are promoted to Default ACL entries. Default
               ACL entries in the input set are discarded. (A warning is
               issued if that happens).
    
           _--restore={file|-}_
               Restore a permission backup created by `getfacl -R' or
               similar. All permissions of a complete directory subtree are
               restored using this mechanism. If the input contains owner
               comments or group comments, setfacl attempts to restore the
               owner and owning group. If the input contains flags comments
               (which define the setuid, setgid, and sticky bits), setfacl
               sets those three bits accordingly; otherwise, it clears them.
               This option cannot be mixed with other options except
               `--test'.  If the file specified is '**-** ', then it will be read
               from standard input.
    
           _--test_
               Test mode. Instead of changing the ACLs of any files, the
               resulting ACLs are listed.
    
           _-R, --recursive_
               Apply operations to all files and directories recursively.
               This option cannot be mixed with `--restore'.
    
           _-L, --logical_
               Logical walk, follow symbolic links to directories. The
               default behavior is to follow symbolic link arguments, and
               skip symbolic links encountered in subdirectories.  Only
               effective in combination with -R.  This option cannot be mixed
               with `--restore'.
    
           _-P, --physical_
               Physical walk, do not follow symbolic links to directories.
               This also skips symbolic link arguments.  Only effective in
               combination with -R.  This option cannot be mixed with
               `--restore'.
    
           _-v, --version_
               Print the version of setfacl and exit.
    
           _-h, --help_
               Print help explaining the command line options.
    
           _--_  End of command line options. All remaining parameters are
               interpreted as file names, even if they start with a dash.
    
           _-_   If the file name parameter is a single dash, setfacl reads a
               list of files from standard input.
    
       **ACL ENTRIES**
           The setfacl utility recognizes the following ACL entry formats
           (blanks inserted for clarity):
    
           [d[efault]:] [u[ser]:]_uid_ [:_perms_]
                  Permissions of a named user. Permissions of the file owner
                  if _uid_ is empty.
    
           [d[efault]:] g[roup]:_gid_ [:_perms_]
                  Permissions of a named group. Permissions of the owning
                  group if _gid_ is empty.
    
           [d[efault]:] m[ask][:] [:_perms_]
                  Effective rights mask
    
           [d[efault]:] o[ther][:] [:_perms_]
                  Permissions of others.
    
           Whitespace between delimiter characters and non-delimiter
           characters is ignored.
    
           Proper ACL entries including permissions are used in modify and
           set operations. (options _-m_ , _-M_ , _--set_ and _--set-file_).  Entries
           without the _perms_ field are used for _deletion_ of entries (options
           _-x_ and _-X_).
    
           For _uid_ and _gid_ you can specify either a name or a number.
           Character literals may be specified with a backslash followed by
           the 3-digit octal digits corresponding to the ASCII code for the
           character (e.g., _\101_ for 'A').  If the name contains a literal
           backslash followed by 3 digits, the backslash must be escaped
           (i.e., _\\_).
    
           The _perms_ field is a combination of characters that indicate the
           read _(r)_ , write _(w)_ , execute _(x)_ permissions.  Dash characters in
           the _perms_ field _(-)_ are ignored.  The character _X_ stands for the
           execute permission if the file is a directory or already has
           execute permission for some user.  Alternatively, the _perms_ field
           can define the permissions numerically, as a bit-wise combination
           of read _(4)_ , write _(2)_ , and execute _(1)_.  Zero _perms_ fields or
           _perms_ fields that only consist of dashes indicate no permissions.
    
       **AUTOMATICALLY CREATED ENTRIES**
           Initially, files and directories contain only the three base ACL
           entries for the owner, the group, and others. There are some rules
           that need to be satisfied in order for an ACL to be valid:
    
           *   The three base entries cannot be removed. There must be
               exactly one entry of each of these base entry types.
    
           *   Whenever an ACL contains named user entries or named group
               objects, it must also contain an effective rights mask.
    
           *   Whenever an ACL contains any Default ACL entries, the three
               Default ACL base entries (default owner, default group, and
               default others) must also exist.
    
           *   Whenever a Default ACL contains named user entries or named
               group objects, it must also contain a default effective rights
               mask.
    
           To help the user ensure these rules, setfacl creates entries from
           existing entries under the following conditions:
    
           *   If an ACL contains named user or named group entries, and no
               mask entry exists, a mask entry containing the same
               permissions as the group entry is created. Unless the _-n_
               option is given, the permissions of the mask entry are further
               adjusted to include the union of all permissions affected by
               the mask entry. (See the _-n_ option description).
    
           *   If a Default ACL entry is created, and the Default ACL
               contains no owner, owning group, or others entry, a copy of
               the ACL owner, owning group, or others entry is added to the
               Default ACL.
    
           *   If a Default ACL contains named user entries or named group
               entries, and no mask entry exists, a mask entry containing the
               same permissions as the default Default ACL's group entry is
               added. Unless the _-n_ option is given, the permissions of the
               mask entry are further adjusted to include the union of all
               permissions affected by the mask entry. (See the _-n_ option
               description).
    


## EXAMPLES



           Granting an additional user read access
                  setfacl -m u:lisa:r file
    
           Revoking write access from all groups and all named users (using
           the effective rights mask)
                  setfacl -m m::rx file
    
           Removing a named group entry from a file's ACL
                  setfacl -x g:staff file
    
           Copying the ACL of one file to another
                  getfacl file1 | setfacl --set-file=- file2
    
           Copying the access ACL into the Default ACL
                  getfacl --access dir | setfacl -d -M- dir
    


## CONFORMANCE TO POSIX 1003.1e DRAFT STANDARD 17



           If the environment variable POSIXLY_CORRECT is defined, the
           default behavior of setfacl changes as follows: All non-standard
           options are disabled.  The ``default:'' prefix is disabled.  The
           _-x_ and _-X_ options also accept permission fields (and ignore them).
    


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