# Attr - legacy tool to handle extended attributes on filesyste... - man - [phpMan] > **TLDR:** Manipulate extended attributes on filesystem objects. > - List the names and sizes of all extended attributes of a file: `attr -l {{path/to/file}}` - Get the value of an extended attribute: `attr -g {{attribute_name}} {{path/to/file}}` - Set an extended attribute value: `attr -s {{attribute_name}} -V "{{attribute_value}}" {{path/to/file}}` - Set an extended attribute using a value from `stdin`: `echo "{{attribute_value}}" | attr -s {{attribute_name}} {{path/to/file}}` - Remove an extended attribute: `attr -r {{attribute_name}} {{path/to/file}}` *Source: tldr-pages* --- [_ATTR_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/ATTR/1/markdown) XFS Compatibility API [_ATTR_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/ATTR/1/markdown) ## NAME attr - legacy tool to handle extended attributes on filesystem objects ## SYNOPSIS **attr **[ **-LRSq **] **-s _**attrname_ [ **-V _**attrvalue_ ] _pathname_ **attr **[ **-LRSq **] **-g _**attrname_ _pathname_ **attr **[ **-LRSq **] **-r _**attrname_ _pathname_ **attr **[ **-LRSq **] **-l _**pathname_ ## OVERVIEW Extended attributes implement the ability for a user to attach name:value pairs to objects within the filesystem. This document describes the **attr **command, which is mostly compatible with the IRIX command of the same name. It was originally aimed specifically at users of the XFS filesystem, even though it can be used now on any filesystem that supports extended attributes, but for the generic and more portable interface for filesystem independent extended attribute manipula‐ tion, consult the [**getfattr**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/getfattr/1/markdown) and [**setfattr**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/setfattr/1/markdown) documentation. Extended attributes can be used to store meta-information about the file. For example "char‐ acter-set=kanji" could tell a document browser to use the Kanji character set when displaying that document and "thumbnail=..." could provide a reduced resolution overview of a high reso‐ lution graphic image. In supported filesystems, the _names_ can be up to 256 bytes in length, terminated by the first 0 byte. The intent is that they be printable ASCII (or other character set) names for the attribute. The _values_ can be up to 64KB of arbitrary binary data. Attributes can be attached to all types of inodes: regular files, directories, symbolic links, device nodes, etc. Extended attributes use several disjoint attribute namespaces associated with every filesys‐ tem object: the **trusted **(or **xfsroot **for compatibility with IRIX) namespace, only accessible and visible to the superuser and when requested explicitly with an option, the **security **name‐ space with the same properties except used for security metadata, and the **user **namespace, which is protected by the normal file permissions mechanism, so the owner of the file can de‐ cide who is able to see and/or modify the value of attributes on any particular file. ## DESCRIPTION The legacy **attr **utility allows the manipulation of extended attributes associated with filesystem objects from within shell scripts. There are four main operations that **attr **can perform: **GET **The **-g _**attrname_ option tells **attr **to search the named object and print (to _**stdout_**) the value associated with that attribute name. With the **-q **flag, _**stdout_ **will be exactly and only the value of the attribute, suitable for storage directly into a file or pro‐ cessing via a piped command. **LIST **The **-l **option tells **attr **to list the names of all the attributes that are associated with the object, and the number of bytes in the value of each of those attributes. With the **-q **flag, _**stdout_ **will be a simple list of only the attribute names, one per line, suitable for input into a script. **REMOVE **The **-r _**attrname_ option tells **attr **to remove an attribute with the given name from the object if the attribute exists. There is no output on successful completion. **SET/CREATE** The **-s _**attrname_ option tells **attr **to set the named attribute of the object to the value read from _**stdin_**. If an attribute with that name already exists, its value will be replaced with this one. If an attribute with that name does not already exist, one will be created with this value. With the **-V _**attrvalue_ flag, the attribute will be set to have a value of _attrvalue_ and _**stdin_ **will not be read. With the **-q **flag, **stdout** will not be used. Without the **-q **flag, a message showing the attribute name and the entire value will be printed. When the **-L **option is given and the named object is a symbolic link, operate on the attrib‐ utes of the object referenced by the symbolic link. Without this option, operate on the at‐ tributes of the symbolic link itself. When the **-R **option is given and the process has appropriate privileges, operate in the **trusted **(or **xfsroot**) attribute namespace rather that the **user **attribute namespace. The **-S **option is similar, except it specifies use of the **security **attribute namespace. When the **-q **option is given **attr **will try to keep quiet. It will output error messages (to _**stderr_**) but will not print status messages (to _**stdout_**). ## NOTES The standard file interchange/archive programs [**tar**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/tar/1/markdown), and [**cpio**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/cpio/1/markdown) will not archive or re‐ store extended attributes. Although GNU tar supports handling extended attributes with its **--xattrs **option. ## CAVEATS The list option present in the IRIX version of this command is not supported. **getfattr **pro‐ vides a mechanism to retrieve all of the attribute names. ## AUTHOR Andreas Gruenbacher, <<_andreas.gruenbacher@gmail.com_>> and the SGI XFS development team, <<_linux-xfs@oss.sgi.com_>>. Please send your bug reports or comments to <_> or <<_acl-devel@nongnu.org_>>. ## SEE ALSO [**getfattr**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/getfattr/1/markdown), [**setfattr**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/setfattr/1/markdown), [**attr_get**(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/attrget/3/markdown), [**attr_set**(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/attrset/3/markdown), [**attr_multi**(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/attrmulti/3/markdown), [**attr_remove**(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/attrremove/3/markdown), [**xattr**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/xattr/7/markdown), [**xfsdump**(8)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/xfsdump/8/markdown) Dec 2001 Extended Attributes [_ATTR_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/ATTR/1/markdown)