Setting File and Directory ACEs

Describes how to set ACEs for files and directories.

For files and directories, run the hadoop mfs command to set Access Control Expression (ACE)s. After ACEs are set, by default, the corresponding POSIX mode bits are also set. POSIX mode bits for owner and owning group are deduced by evaluating the corresponding ACEs. POSIX mode bits for others is set only if "p" is given as the value for an ACE.

The following table lists POSIX mode bits and corresponding access types.

ACE POSIX Mode Bits
File readfile r
writefile w
executefile x
Directory readdir r
addchild w
deletechild w
lookupdir x

The POSIX mode bit that grants write (w) access to a directory is set only if the user, role, or group is granted permission for both access types (addchild and deletechild).

The hadoop command, by default, sets the POSIX mode bits that correspond to the given ACEs, and:

  • Overwrites existing ACE values with new values, if specified, for access types that were previously set.
  • Sets ACE values for access types that have not yet been set, if specified.
  • Does not modify access types that are not specified with the command, regardless of how they were previously set.
WARNING Changing the POSIX mode bits using chmod does not change the corresponding ACE setting and may result in different, conflicting permissions to files and directories.