The stat command¶
The stat command lets you display file or file system status. It gives you useful information about the file (or directory) on which you use it.
Examples:¶
- Basic command usage
stat file.txt
- Use the
-c(or--format) argument to only display information you want to see (here, the total size, in bytes)
stat file.txt -c %s
Syntax:¶
stat [OPTION] [FILE]
Additional Flags and their Functionalities:¶
| Short Flag | Long Flag | Description |
|---|---|---|
-L | --dereference | Follow links |
-f | --file-system | Display file system status instead of file status |
-c | --format=FORMAT | Specify the format (see below) |
-t | --terse | Print the information in terse form |
| - | --cached=MODE | Specify how to use cached attributes. Can be: always, never, or default |
| - | --printf=FORMAT | Like --format, but interpret backslash escapes (\n, \t, …) |
| - | --help | Display the help and exit |
| - | --version | Output version information and exit |
Example of Valid Format Sequences for Files:¶
| Format | Description |
|---|---|
%a | Permission bits in octal |
%A | Permission bits and file type in human readable form |
%d | Device number in decimal |
%D | Device number in hex |
%F | File type |
%g | Group ID of owner |
%G | Group name of owner |
%h | Number of hard links |
%i | Inode number |
%m | Mount point |
%n | File name |
%N | Quoted file name with dereference if symbolic link |
%s | Total size, in bytes |
%u | User ID of owner |
%U | User name of owner |
%w | Time of file birth, human-readable; - if unknown |
%x | Time of last access, human-readable |
%y | Time of last data modification, human-readable |
%z | Time of last status change, human-readable |
Last update: 2022-05-12