attr ☆

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Description:
Manipulate filesystem extended attributes

Type: Formula | Latest Version: 2.5.2@0 | Tracked Since: Dec 17, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: System utilities

Tags: filesystem metadata acl linux sysadmin

Install: brew install attr

About:
The 'attr' package provides a command-line interface for manipulating extended attributes on filesystem objects. These attributes allow users to store additional metadata beyond standard Unix permissions, such as access control lists (ACLs) or custom data. It is the standard tool for managing the user namespace of extended attributes on Linux and other POSIX systems.

Key Features:

Provides 'getfattr' and 'setfattr' commands for reading and writing attributes
Includes 'attr' utility for direct manipulation of attributes by name
Supports dumping and restoring filesystem attributes using 'getfattr' and 'setfattr'
Enables fine-grained access control and metadata management

Use Cases:

Setting ACLs for granular file permissions
Storing custom metadata tags on files for search and organization
Debugging filesystem behavior by inspecting extended attributes

Alternatives:

xattr – Python's xattr module provides a library interface, whereas attr provides the standard CLI utilities.

License: GPL-2.0-or-later

Bottles available for: arm64_linux, x86_64_linux

Version History

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