How to change the file owner and group in the Linux system? In this article, we will change the owner and group of files in the Linux/Unix system using the terminal. To change the file owner and group, we use the chown command in the Linux operating system. We know that Linux is a multiuser operating system so every file or directory belongs to an owner and group. To change ownership of files or directories we use the chown command in the Linux system. This command is also available in the IBM i operating system. The chgrp command is also used to change only the group ownership of the file in the Linux system. Syntax The general syntax of the chown command is as follows chown [OPTION]... [OWNER] [: [GROUP]] FILE... chown [OPTION]... --reference=RFILE FILE... A brief description of options available in the chown command: ...