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SETCAP(8) System Manager's Manual SETCAP(8)


setcap - set file capabilities


setcap [-q] [-v] (capabilities|-|-r) filename [ ... capabilitiesN fileN ]


In the absence of the -v (verify) option setcap sets the capabilities of each specified filename to the capabilities specified. The -v option is used to verify that the specified capabilities are currently associated with the file.

The capabilities are specified in the form described in cap_from_text(3).

The special capability string, '-', can be used to indicate that capabilities are read from the standard input. In such cases, the capability set is terminated with a blank line.

The special capability string, '-r', is used to remove a capability set from a file.

The -q flag is used to make the program less verbose in its output.


The setcap program will exit with a 0 exit code if successful. On failure, the exit code is 1.


cap_from_text(3), cap_set_file(3), getcap(8)
24th October 2008