CHCON(1)

💅 chcon — like, the manual page, bestie (User Commands, section 1, she's iconic)

okay so picture this: you've got files, right? and SELinux has opinions about them. chcon is the girl who goes in and changes those opinions. she's from the User Commands part of the manual, section 1, and honestly? she ate.

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✨ NAME ✨

chcon — change file security context 🎀

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

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# 🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So basically: change the SELinux security context of each *FILE* to *CONTEXT*. That's the whole vibe. 🫶

But if you pass `--reference`, it's a different story — then she changes the security context of each *FILE* to that of *RFILE*. Like "make it match *that* one over there, bestie." 😌

> real talk though: mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too. no exceptions, no cap. ⭐

### ✨ the flags, one by one ✨

- **`--dereference`** — affect the referent of each symbolic link rather than the symbolic link itself. this one is *the default*, so she's already doing it before you even ask 💅
- **`-h`, `--no-dereference`** — the opposite energy: affect symbolic links instead of any referenced file 🦋
- **`-u`, `--user=USER`** — set user *USER* in the target security context 👑
- **`-r`, `--role=ROLE`** — set role *ROLE* in the target security context 🎀
- **`-t`, `--type=TYPE`** — set type *TYPE* in the target security context 🌸
- **`-l`, `--range=RANGE`** — set range *RANGE* in the target security context 🌈
- **`--no-preserve-root`** — do not treat `/` specially. this is the default, she's chill like that ⭐
- **`--preserve-root`** — fail to operate recursively on `/`. ok so *this* is the one you want if you're the cautious type 🔥
- **`--reference=RFILE`** — use *RFILE*'s security context rather than specifying a *CONTEXT* value. copy her fit exactly, iykyk 🙈
- **`-R`, `--recursive`** — operate on files and directories recursively. all the way down, bestie 💀
- **`-v`, `--verbose`** — output a diagnostic for every file processed. she will *tell* you about every single one 🗣️

### 🧚 how the hierarchy gets traversed 🧚

okay these next ones only matter when `-R` is also in the mix — they modify how a hierarchy is traversed. and listen: if more than one is specified, **only the final one takes effect**. so don't be out here stacking them thinking they all apply, because they do not, periodt. 💀

- **`-H`** — if a command line argument is a symbolic link to a directory, traverse it 🦋
- **`-L`** — traverse every symbolic link to a directory encountered 🌸
- **`-P`** — do not traverse any symbolic links. this one is the **default** 💅

### 🎀 the little helpers 🎀

- **`--help`** — display this help and exit 👋
- **`--version`** — output version information and exit ✨

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# 👑 AUTHOR 👑

Written by Russell Coker and Jim Meyering. legends fr fr 🫶

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# 🔥 REPORTING BUGS 🔥

- Report bugs to: `bug-coreutils@gnu.org` 📬
- GNU coreutils home page: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/> 🌐
- General help using GNU software: <https://www.gnu.org/gethelp/> 🫶
- Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/> 🌈

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# 💜 COPYRIGHT 💜

Copyright © 2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.

This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.

There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. 😭 (yes, really, zero warranty, read it and weep)

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# ⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

- Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/chcon> 📖
- or available locally via: `info '(coreutils) chcon invocation'` 🧚

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okay that's the whole page, go forth and context-ify responsibly 💖

— xoxo, this was `GNU coreutils 9.8`, dated `September 2025`, signing off from the `CHCON(1)` footer like the main character she is 🌟