lsattr

lists file attributes on Linux ext2/ext3/ext4 filesystems

TLDR

List attributes
$ lsattr
List for path
$ lsattr path/to/file
Recursive listing
$ lsattr -R
Show hidden files
$ lsattr -a
List directory attributes (not its contents)
$ lsattr -d [path/to/dir]
Show attributes with long names
$ lsattr -l [path/to/file]
List attributes with version numbers
$ lsattr -v [path/to/file]

SYNOPSIS

lsattr [OPTIONS] [files...]

DESCRIPTION

lsattr lists file attributes on Linux ext2/ext3/ext4 filesystems. It shows special attributes like immutable, append-only, and other extended attributes set by chattr.

PARAMETERS

-R

List attributes recursively
-a
List all files including hidden ones
-d
List directories themselves, not their contents
-v
List file's version/generation number
-p
List file's project number
-l
Use long names instead of single character abbreviations
-V
Display the program version

INSTALL

sudo apt install e2fsprogs
sudo dnf install e2fsprogs
sudo pacman -S e2fsprogs
sudo apk add e2fsprogs-extra
sudo zypper install e2fsprogs
brew install e2fsprogs
nix profile install nixpkgs#e2fsprogs

CAVEATS

Only shows attributes on filesystems that support extended attributes (ext2/ext3/ext4, btrfs). The output format shows attribute flags as single characters (e.g., i for immutable, a for append-only) with a dash (-) for unset flags, followed by the filename.

HISTORY

lsattr is part of e2fsprogs, providing attribute listing for Linux filesystems.

SEE ALSO

chattr(1), ls(1)