SETMODE(3) | Library Functions Manual | SETMODE(3)

# NAME

`getmode`, `setmode` — modify mode bits

# SYNOPSIS

`#include <unistd.h>`

mode_t
`getmode`(const void *set, mode_t mode);

void *
`setmode`(const char *mode_str);

# DESCRIPTION

The `getmode`() function returns a copy of the file permission bits mode as altered by the values pointed to by set. While only the mode bits are altered, other parts of the file mode may be examined.

The `setmode`() function takes an absolute (octal) or symbolic value, as described in chmod(1), as an argument and returns a pointer to mode values to be supplied to `getmode`(). Because some of the symbolic values are relative to the file creation mask, `setmode`() may call umask(2). If this occurs, the file creation mask will be restored before `setmode`() returns. If the calling program changes the value of its file creation mask after calling `setmode`(), `setmode`() must be called again if `getmode`() is to modify future file modes correctly.

If the mode passed to `setmode`() is invalid, `setmode`() returns `NULL`. The caller is responsible for freeing the pointer that `setmode`() returns.

# ERRORS

The `setmode`() function may fail and set errno for any of the errors specified for the library routine malloc(3) or to `ERANGE` if an invalid octal value was specified, or `EINVAL` if an invalid symbolic value was specified.

# SEE ALSO

chmod(1), stat(2), umask(2), malloc(3)

# HISTORY

The `getmode`() and `setmode`() functions first appeared in 4.3BSD-Reno.

July 30, 2022 | Debian