namei Command in Linux

Introduction

As a Linux administrator, you often have to work with files, folders, symlinks, etc. And sometimes you need to know more information about individual elements in a path for example file type, owner, …

For that matter, the namei command appeared. Now we’re gonna teach you to use the namei command in Linux.

The syntax of the namei command

The syntax:

namei [options] pathname...

For example:

$ namei test/test1.txt

Output:

f: the path name

d: directory

-: the file name

Using the namei command

1. Align to the left margin (using -v option)

$ namei -v test/test1.txt

Output:

2. Show owner and group (using -o option)

$ namei -o test/test1.txt

Output:

This proves that this folder and file are both owned by ubuntu.

3. Show long list (using -l option)

$ namei -l test/test1.txt

Output:

With this option, it will show more privileges of the owner.

If you only want to show the privileges of the owner, let’s use the -m option:

$ namei -m test/test1.txt

Output:

Conclusion

We just taught you to use the namei command in Linux.

Thank you for referring!

Karim Buzdar

Karim Buzdar holds a degree in telecommunication engineering and holds several sysadmin certifications including CCNA RS, SCP, and ACE. As an IT engineer and technical author, he writes for various websites.