os.chown | Python OS Module Demos

Python os.chown(path, uid, gid) method is used to change the owner and group id of path to the numeric uid and gid.

• To leave one of the ids unchanged, set it to -1
• Requires superuser privileges to perform the modification operation
• os.chown() method is only available on UNIX/LINUX platforms

os.chown Syntax

os.chown(path, uid, gid, *, dir_fd = None, follow_symlinks = True)

os.chown Parameters

• path – File path for setting permissions
• uid – User ID
• gid – User group ID
• dir_fd (Optional) – FD pointing to a directory
• follow_symlinks (Optional) – Bool value, default is True. when False, the method will operate on the symbolic link itself and not on the file to which the link points.

The * in the parameter list means that all subsequent parameters are keyword parameters（In our case it is dir_fd and follow_symlinks）, That is a non-location parameter.

os.chown Returns

os.chown method does not return a value.

os.chown Demo 1: Basic Usage

# Api demos for os.chown() method
import os

path = "apidemos.txt"

# Print the UID and GID of the file
print("UID of the file:", os.stat(path).st_uid)
print("GID of the file:", os.stat(path).st_gid)

os.chown(path, 4000, 4000)
print("\nUID and GID of this file has changed")

# Print the UID and GID of the file again
print("\nOwner id of the file:", os.stat(path).st_uid)
print("Group id of the file:", os.stat(path).st_gid)

Output：

os.chown Demo 2: Modify UID only

# Api demos for os.chown() method
import os

path = "apidemos.txt"

# Print the UID and GID of the file
print("UID of the file:", os.stat(path).st_uid)
print("GID of the file:", os.stat(path).st_gid)

os.chown(path, 5000, -1)
print("\nUID of this file has changed")

# Print the UID and GID of the file again
print("\nOwner id of the file:", os.stat(path).st_uid)
print("Group id of the file:", os.stat(path).st_gid)

Output：

os.chown Demo 3: Modify the UID and GID of the symbolic link file itself

# Api demos for os.chown() method
import os

path = "apidemos.txt"

# using os.symlink() method to create a symlink for path  
path_symlink = "apidemos_symlink.txt"
os.symlink(path, path_symlink)

# Print the UID and GID of the path and path_symlink
print("UID of the path:", os.stat(path).st_uid)
print("GID of the path:", os.stat(path).st_gid)
print("UID of the path_symlink:", os.stat(path_symlink).st_uid)
print("GID of the path_symlink:", os.stat(path_symlink).st_gid)

# Case 1: change the path_symlink file's UID and GID with default follow_symlinks
os.chown(path_symlink, 4000, 4000)
# Print the UID and GID of the path and path_symlink
print("Case 1: change the path_symlink file's UID and GID with default follow_symlinks to 1000")
print("UID of the path:", os.stat(path).st_uid)
print("GID of the path:", os.stat(path).st_gid)
print("UID of the path_symlink:", os.stat(path_symlink).st_uid)
print("GID of the path_symlink:", os.stat(path_symlink).st_gid)

# Case 2: change the path_symlink file's UID and GID with follow_symlinks=False
os.chown(path_symlink, 3000, 3000, follow_symlinks = False)
# Print the UID and GID of the path and path_symlink
print("Case 2: change the path_symlink file's UID and GID with follow_symlinks=False to 2000")
print("UID of the path:", os.stat(path).st_uid)
print("GID of the path:", os.stat(path).st_gid)
print("UID of the path_symlink:", os.stat(path_symlink).st_uid)
print("GID of the path_symlink:", os.stat(path_symlink).st_gid)

Output：

We can see that when follow_symlinks = False is set, the execution of os.chown only modifies the UID and GID of the symlink file itself, the UID and GID of the linked file remain unchanged.