The command used to show extended ACL (Access Control List) information for files on Unix/Linux systems is: getfacl On a typical Linux system:

bash

getfacl filename

This displays:

  • File name
  • Owner and group
  • Standard permissions
  • Any extended ACL entries (extra user/group permissions, masks, defaults).

Quick Scoop: Extended ACL Info

If you just want to see whether a file or directory has ACLs at all , you can:

  • Use ls -l and look for a + after the permission bits, which indicates ACLs exist.
  • Then run getfacl on that path to see the full extended ACL details.

Example:

bash

ls -l
# -rw-rw-r--+ 1 user group  0 Feb 20 12:00 example.txt

getfacl example.txt

This will print all extended ACL entries such as per-user and per-group rights beyond the usual rwx bits.

Mini FAQ

  • Q: Isls -l enough to see extended ACL details?
    A: No. ls -l only hints that ACLs exist (with a +), but you need getfacl to see the full extended ACL information.
  • Q: Do I need extra packages?
    A: On many Linux distributions, getfacl is provided by the ACL utilities package, which may need to be installed if it is not already present.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.