Hadoop Chown

The hadoop fs -chown command is used to change the ownership of files and directories in HDFS (Hadoop Distributed File System). It allows you to modify the owner and group of one or more HDFS files or directories. This command is typically executed in the context of Hadoop’s command-line interface (CLI) or within a script for automation.

Here is the basic syntax of the hadoop fs -chown command:

• -R (optional): Recursively change ownership for all files and subdirectories under the specified HDFS path.
• <new_owner>: The new owner’s username.
• <new_group>: The new group’s name.
• <HDFS_path>: The HDFS path to the file or directory for which ownership needs to be changed.

Example 1: Changing Ownership of a File

To change the ownership of a specific file in HDFS, you can use the following command:

In this example, the ownership of the file /user/olduser/example.txt will be changed to the user newuser and the group newgroup.

Example 2: Changing Ownership Recursively

If you want to change ownership recursively for all files and subdirectories under a given directory, use the -R option:

In this case, ownership will be changed for all files and subdirectories under /user/olduser/mydirectory.

Note: To execute the hadoop fs -chown command, you need appropriate permissions. Typically, only superusers or administrators have the privilege to change ownership of files and directories in HDFS.