UTIME(3) | Library Functions Manual | UTIME(3)

# NAME

`utime` — set file times

# SYNOPSIS

`#include <sys/types.h>`
`#include <utime.h>`

int
`utime`(const char *file, const struct utimbuf *timep);

# DESCRIPTION

This interface is obsoleted by utimes(2).

The `utime`() function sets the access and modification times of the named file.

If timep is `NULL`, the access and modification times are set to the current time. The calling process must be the owner of the file or have permission to write the file.

If timep is non-null, it specifies a pointer to a utimbuf structure, as defined in `<utime.h>`:

    struct utimbuf {
    	time_t actime;		/* Access time */
    	time_t modtime;		/* Modification time */
    };

The access time is set to the value of the actime member, and the modification time is set to the value of the modtime member. The times are measured in seconds since 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds, January 1, 1970, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The calling process must be the owner of the file or be the superuser.

In either case, the inode change-time of the file is set to the current time.

# RETURN VALUES

Upon successful completion, the value 0 is returned; otherwise the value -1 is returned and the global variable errno is set to indicate the error.

# ERRORS

`utime`() will fail if:

[`EACCES`]
  Search permission is denied for a component of the path prefix; or the timep argument is `NULL` and the effective user ID of the process does not match the owner of the file, the effective user ID is not that of the superuser, and write access is denied.
[`EFAULT`]
  file or timep points outside the process's allocated address space.
[`EINVAL`]
  The pathname contains a character with the high-order bit set.
[`EIO`]
  An I/O error occurred while reading or writing the affected inode.
[`ELOOP`]
  Too many symbolic links were encountered in translating the pathname.
[`ENAMETOOLONG`]
  A component of a pathname exceeded `NAME_MAX` characters, or an entire pathname (including the terminating NUL) exceeded `PATH_MAX` bytes.
[`ENOENT`]
  The named file does not exist.
[`ENOTDIR`]
  A component of the path prefix is not a directory.
[`EPERM`]
  The timep argument is not `NULL` and the calling process's effective user ID does not match the owner of the file and is not the superuser.
[`EROFS`]
  The file system containing the file is mounted read-only.

# SEE ALSO

stat(2), utimes(2)

# STANDARDS

The `utime`() function conforms to IEEE Std 1003.1-1988 (“POSIX.1”).

# HISTORY

A `utime`() function appeared in Version 7 AT&T UNIX.

September 11, 2022 | Debian