Extended File Attributes

The UFS, NFS, and TMPFS file systems have been enhanced to include extended file attributes, which enable application developers to associate specific attributes to a file. For example, a developer of a windowing system file management application might choose to associate a display icon with a file. Extended file attributes are logically represented as files within a hidden directory that is associated with the target file.

You can use the runat command to add attributes and execute shell commands in the extended attribute name space, which is a hidden attribute directory that is associated with the specified file.

To use the runat command to add attributes to a file, you first have to create the attributes file.

$ runat filea cp /tmp/attrdata attr.1

Then, use the runat command to list the attributes of a file.

$ runat filea ls -l

For more information, see the runat(1) man page.

Many Solaris file system commands have been modified to support file system attributes by providing an attribute-aware option that you can use to query, copy, or find file attributes. For more information, see the specific man page for each file system command.