File Attributes Copier (ownership, permissions, SELinux security contexts)

!cp-attr.sh.md

File Attributes Copier

A robust Bash script for copying file attributes (ownership, permissions, and SELinux context) from a source file to one or more destination files.

Features

• Copies ownership (user and group)
• Copies permissions (read, write, execute)
• Copies SELinux security context (if SELinux is enabled)
• Provides detailed, color-coded logging
• Handles multiple destination files
• Robust error checking and reporting

Requirements

• Bash (version 4.0 or later recommended)
• Standard Unix utilities: chown, chmod
• SELinux utilities (optional): getenforce, chcon

Installation

1. Clone this repository or download the script:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/file-attributes-copier.git

2. Make the script executable:

   chmod +x file-attributes-copier.sh

Usage

./file-attributes-copier.sh <source_path> <destination_path1> [<destination_path2> ...]

• <source_path>: The file whose attributes you want to copy
• <destination_path1>, <destination_path2>, etc.: One or more files to which you want to apply the attributes

Example

./file-attributes-copier.sh /path/to/source/file.txt /path/to/dest1.txt /path/to/dest2.txt

This command will copy the attributes of file.txt to both dest1.txt and dest2.txt.

Output

The script provides detailed, color-coded output for each operation:

• Blue [INFO]: General information
• Green [SUCCESS]: Successful operations
• Yellow [WARNING]: Non-critical issues
• Red [ERROR]: Critical failures

Example output:

[INFO   ] SELINUX                                 | Enabled. Will copy security context.
[INFO   ] /path/to/dest1.txt                      | Starting attribute copy from '/path/to/source/file.txt'
[SUCCESS] /path/to/dest1.txt                      | change ownership: changed ownership of '/path/to/dest1.txt' from user1:group1 to user2:group2
[SUCCESS] /path/to/dest1.txt                      | change permissions: mode of '/path/to/dest1.txt' changed from 0644 (rw-r--r--) to 0755 (rwxr-xr-x)
[SUCCESS] /path/to/dest1.txt                      | change security context: changed security context of '/path/to/dest1.txt'
[SUCCESS] /path/to/dest1.txt                      | All attributes copied successfully

[INFO   ] /path/to/dest2.txt                      | Starting attribute copy from '/path/to/source/file.txt'
[SUCCESS] /path/to/dest2.txt                      | change ownership: changed ownership of '/path/to/dest2.txt' from user1:group1 to user2:group2
[ERROR  ] /path/to/dest2.txt                      | Failed to change permissions
[ERROR  ] /path/to/dest2.txt                      | chmod: changing permissions of '/path/to/dest2.txt': Operation not permitted
[WARNING] /path/to/dest2.txt                      | Some operations failed during attribute copy

[WARNING] SCRIPT                                  | Some operations failed. Please review the log for details.

Error Handling

• The script will continue processing all specified destination files even if operations on one file fail.
• A summary of overall success or failure is provided at the end of the script execution.
• Detailed error messages are displayed for any failed operations.

Limitations

• Requires appropriate permissions to modify file attributes
• SELinux context copying only works on systems with SELinux enabled
• Does not handle symbolic links specially (attributes are applied to the link itself, not the target)

Contributing

Contributions to improve the script are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a new branch for your feature
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Create a new Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the GPL-3.0 License.

Acknowledgments

• Inspired by the need for a robust, verbose file attribute copying tool
• Thanks to the Bash community for best practices and error handling techniques

cp-attr.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# Enable strict mode
set -euo pipefail
IFS=$'\n\t'

# ANSI color codes
RED='\033[0;31m'
GREEN='\033[0;32m'
YELLOW='\033[0;33m'
BLUE='\033[0;34m'
NC='\033[0m' # No Color

# Global variables
SELINUX_ENABLED=false
SOURCE_PATH=""

# Logging functions
log() {
    local level="$1"
    local path="$2"
    local message="$3"
    local color=""

    case "$level" in
        INFO)    color="$BLUE" ;;
        SUCCESS) color="$GREEN" ;;
        WARNING) color="$YELLOW" ;;
        ERROR)   color="$RED" ;;
    esac

    printf "${color}[%-7s]${NC} %-40s | %s\n" "$level" "$path" "$message"
}

log_info()    { log "INFO"    "$1" "$2"; }
log_success() { log "SUCCESS" "$1" "$2"; }
log_warning() { log "WARNING" "$1" "$2" >&2; }
log_error()   { log "ERROR"   "$1" "$2" >&2; }

# Function to execute command and log output
exec_and_log() {
    local dest="$1"
    local operation="$2"
    shift 2
    local cmd=("$@")
    local output
    local status=0

    output=$("${cmd[@]}" 2>&1) || status=$?

    if [[ $status -eq 0 ]]; then
        while IFS= read -r line; do
            log_success "$dest" "$operation: $line"
        done <<< "$output"
        return 0
    else
        log_error "$dest" "Failed to $operation"
        while IFS= read -r line; do
            log_error "$dest" "$line"
        done <<< "$output"
        return 1
    fi
}

# Function to print usage
print_usage() {
    log_info "USAGE" "$0 <source_path> <destination_path1> [<destination_path2> ...]"
    log_info "DESCRIPTION" "Copies ownership, permissions, and security context from source to destination(s)."
}

# Check if at least two arguments are provided
if (( $# < 2 )); then
    log_error "ARGS" "At least two arguments are required."
    print_usage
    exit 1
fi

SOURCE_PATH="$1"
shift

# Check if source path exists
if [[ ! -e "$SOURCE_PATH" ]]; then
    log_error "$SOURCE_PATH" "Source path does not exist."
    exit 1
fi

# Check if SELinux is enabled (only once per script execution)
if command -v getenforce &>/dev/null && [[ "$(getenforce)" != "Disabled" ]]; then
    SELINUX_ENABLED=true
    log_info "SELINUX" "Enabled. Will copy security context."
else
    log_info "SELINUX" "Not enabled. Skipping security context copy."
fi

# Function to copy attributes
copy_attributes() {
    local src="$1"
    local dest="$2"
    local success=true

    log_info "$dest" "Starting attribute copy from '$src'"

    # Copy ownership
    exec_and_log "$dest" "change ownership" chown --verbose --preserve-root --reference="$src" "$dest" || success=false

    # Copy permissions
    exec_and_log "$dest" "change permissions" chmod --verbose --reference="$src" "$dest" || success=false

    # Copy security context (if SELinux is enabled)
    if $SELINUX_ENABLED; then
        exec_and_log "$dest" "change security context" chcon --verbose --reference="$src" "$dest" || success=false
    fi

    if $success; then
        log_success "$dest" "All attributes copied successfully"
    else
        log_warning "$dest" "Some operations failed during attribute copy"
    fi
    echo
    
    $success
}

# Process each destination path
overall_success=true
for dest_path in "$@"; do
    if [[ -e "$dest_path" ]]; then
        copy_attributes "$SOURCE_PATH" "$dest_path" || overall_success=false
    else
        log_error "$dest_path" "Destination path does not exist. Skipping."
        overall_success=false
    fi
done

if $overall_success; then
    log_success "SCRIPT" "All operations completed successfully."
else
    log_warning "SCRIPT" "Some operations failed. Please review the log for details."
fi