lsattr

Display the attributes of the files in the current directory

$ lsattr

$ lsattr [path]

$ lsattr -R

$ lsattr -a

$ lsattr -d

lsattr [-RVadlv] [files...]

-a
    List all files in directories, including those starting with '.'

-d
    List directories only, not their contents

-l
    Long listing format, similar to 'ls -l', showing attribute names

-R
    Recurse into directories listing all files

-v
    Display attribute version (numeric value)

-V
    Print version information and exit

--help
    Display help and exit

lsattr displays the extended attributes set on files and directories using the chattr command on Linux second extended filesystems (ext2, ext3, ext4). These attributes control file behavior, such as making files immutable (cannot be modified or deleted), append-only (can only append data), or secure deletion. Attributes are stored in the file's inode and are visible only on supported filesystems.

By default, lsattr lists attributes for specified files or, if none, for all files in the current directory (excluding dotfiles). Attributes appear as uppercase letters after the filename, e.g., ----i--------e-- indicates immutable ('i') and no-dump ('d' would be shown, but 'e' is for extent format).

This tool is essential for system administrators to inspect and audit file protections, especially in security hardening or debugging scenarios. It requires read access to the inode, so root privileges may be needed for protected files. Note that attributes do not affect standard permissions but provide additional filesystem-level controls.

Works only on ext2/ext3/ext4 filesystems; attributes ignored on others. Requires inode read access (may need root). Attributes shown as 40-character bitmask; not all bits user-settable.

a=append-only, c=compressed, d=no-dump, i=immutable, j=journaled, s=secure-delete, S=synchronous, t=no-tail-merge, u=undeletable.

lsattr /etc/passwd → -------------e-- /etc/passwd (extent format enabled).

Developed by Remy Card in 1992 for ext2 filesystem as part of e2fsprogs package. Evolved with ext3 (2001) and ext4 (2008) support, maintaining backward compatibility for attribute handling.

chattr(1), debugfs(8), tune2fs(8)