chgrp

Additional Notes

chgrp changes the group owner of files and directories. It is similar to the group part of chown, but focused only on groups.

Group ownership is useful when multiple users or services need controlled shared access.

Syntax

chgrp [options] GROUP file...

Parameters

• options: Flags that change how chgrp behaves.
• user: User account affected by the command.
• group: Group account affected by the command.
• file: File or directory whose ownership, mode, or access policy is being changed.

Common Options

• -R, --recursive: Change group recursively.
• -v, --verbose: Show processed files.
• -c, --changes: Show only files that changed.
• --reference=FILE: Copy group ownership from another file.
• -h: Change symbolic links themselves when supported.

Examples

sudo chgrp developers project.txt

Change a file's group to developers.

sudo chgrp -R www-data /var/www/site

Recursively set group ownership for a website directory.

chgrp --reference=old.conf new.conf

Copy group ownership from another file.

ls -l file.txt

Check group ownership.

Practical Notes

• Use chown owner:group file when changing owner and group together.
• Use chmod g+rw file when the group also needs write permission.
• Recursive group changes should start from a narrow, confirmed path.
• You need permission to change group ownership.