Changing File Ownership on Oak#

Requesting a Change of File Ownership#

To request a file ownership change on Oak, email srcc-support@stanford.edu with the following information:

• Usernames whose data should be transferred

• Provide a list of SUNet IDs whose files should be reassigned.

• New owner

• Provide the SUNet ID of the new owner.

• The new owner must be a member of the same Oak space (e.g., the PI or another authorized member).

• Authorization

• If you are requesting a transfer of your own files to a colleague before leaving a lab, PI approval is not required.
• If you are not the current owner of the files, authorization is required from either:
  • The current file owner, or
  • The PI who owns the Oak space where the files reside.

After the required information and authorization are received, SRC staff will:

• Process the ownership change.
• Create a log file in the root of the affected directory documenting all changes made.

Why Users Cannot Change File Ownership Themselves#

Oak operates in a shared Linux environment. The chown command requires the CAP_CHOWN capability.

This capability cannot be restricted to a user’s own files. Granting it would allow a user to change ownership of any file on the system, not just their own. For this reason, file ownership changes must be performed by SRC staff.