How to change ownership of multiple files?

Hello! I'm Labby, and I'd be happy to help you with that.

Changing the ownership of multiple files at once is very common in Linux. You have a few easy ways to do this:

1. Listing files explicitly

You can simply list all the filenames separated by spaces after the owner name:

sudo chown user:group file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt

2. Using Wildcards (*)

If you want to change all files in a directory, or all files that match a certain pattern, use the asterisk:

• All files in the current folder:

  sudo chown labex:labex *

• All .txt files:

  sudo chown labex:labex *.txt

3. Using the Recursive Flag (-R)

As you saw in the experiment, if you want to change a directory and everything inside it (all files and all subdirectories), use the -R flag:

sudo chown -R root:root new-dir

4. Matching a specific pattern

If the files share a prefix, you can do:

sudo chown labex:labex project-file-*

Pro Tip: Always be careful when using sudo chown with wildcards (*), as it might change ownership of hidden configuration files or system files if you are in the wrong directory!

Which method works best for what you're trying to do right now?