Editing Stat (system call) (section)

{{Short description|Unix system call for querying file metadata}}
{{Lowercase title}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2015}}
[[File:Coreutils stat screenshot.png|thumb|<code>stat</code> command line]]
'''{{code|stat()}}''' is a [[Unix]] [[system call]] that queries the [[file system]] for [[metadata]] about a [[computer file|file]] (including [[Unix file type|special files]] such as [[computer directory|directories]]). The metadata contains many fields including [[Unix file type|type]], [[file size|size]], ownership, [[File-system permissions|permission]]s and [[Unix time|timestamps]]. 

For example, the [[ls|{{code|ls}}]] command uses this system call to retrieve timestamps:
* mtime: when last modified ({{code|ls -l}})
* atime: when last accessed ({{code|ls -lu}})
* ctime: when last status changed ({{code|ls -lc}})

{{code|stat()}} appeared in [[Research Unix#Versions|Version 1 Unix]]. It is among the few original Unix [[system call]]s to change, with [[Research Unix#Versions|Version 4]]'s addition of [[group permissions]] and larger [[file size]].<ref>{{cite tech report |first1=M. D. |last1=McIlroy |authorlink1=Doug McIlroy |year=1987 |url=http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~doug/reader.pdf |title=A Research Unix reader: annotated excerpts from the Programmer's Manual, 1971–1986 |series=CSTR |number=139 |institution=Bell Labs}}</ref> 

Since at least 2004, the same-named [[shell (computing)|shell]] [[command (computing)|command]] <code>stat</code> has been available for [[Linux]] to expose features of the system call via a [[command-line interface]].<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20060430100656/http://mailman.linuxchix.org/pipermail/courses/2004-March/001425.html tee, file, stat, find- correction - linuxchix.org - Wed Mar 10 11:04:07 EST 2004 (archived on April 30, 2006)]</ref><!--Source doesn't state whether it was pre-installed, therefore worded as "available for"; not "available in".-->