Mastering Linux stat: Inspect File Details and Filesystem Information

Overview

The stat command in Linux displays detailed information about a file or directory, including size, permissions, timestamps, and the underlying filesystem.

Syntax

Basic usage:

stat [options] filename_or_directory

Common Options

-f

: Show information about the filesystem containing the file instead of the file itself.

Example 1 – View File Details

Command: stat demo.txt Sample output (illustrated below) and explanation:

File: the name of the file ( demo.txt).

Size: file size in bytes (e.g., 665).

Blocks: number of allocated blocks (e.g., 8).

IO Block: preferred I/O block size (e.g., 4096).

Device: device identifier (e.g., fc01h/64513d).

Inode: inode number (e.g., 1051650).

Links: number of hard links (e.g., 1).

Access: permission bits (e.g., 0664), owner UID and GID (e.g., 508).

Access time: last read timestamp.

Modify time: last content modification timestamp.

Change time: last status change timestamp.

Example 2 – View Filesystem Information

Using the -f option shows details about the filesystem that holds the file rather than the file itself: stat -f demo.txt The output includes filesystem type, block size, total/available blocks, and more, as illustrated below.

These examples demonstrate how stat can be used for troubleshooting, auditing file attributes, and gathering filesystem statistics.