Permissions – Move File to Another User’s Home Directory Without Sudo

mvpermissionsscp

I have a couple of files that I want to move to another's user home directory. I don't have permissions to write to that user's home directory, but I know his password.

I know how to copy the file using scp (see here). However, if I want to move the file, copying and then removing the original file is inefficient. Is there a way to move the file, without using sudo (I don't know the root's password)?

Best Answer

Subject to certain assumptions that the target user can actually access the file in its original location, the following approach could work:

SRC='/path/to/existing/file'
DST='/path/to/new/file'

su target_user sh -c "ln -f '$SRC' '$DST'" && rm -f "$SRC"

This "moves" the file to the new user's location, but does not change the ownership or permissions.

Related Solutions

scp – How to Transfer a File from Local Directory to Remote Directory

You need to run the scp command from the local machine, not on the remote. You don't need the ssh at all:

dragonmnl@local $ scp -P 2222 file.ext username@domain:~/

You also don't need the -r:

 -r      Recursively copy entire directories.

If you are already logged into the remote machine and want to copy from your local, you need to make sure that your local machine is accessible via the internet and has ssh set up. I don't think this is what you are after but if it is, just run this from the remote:

username@domain $ scp dragonmnl@local:/path/to/file.ext ~/

File Permissions – Can Users in a Group Access a File in Another User’s Home Directory?

Some points that seem to be necessary (though I freely admit that I am not expert in these matters), and that were not covered in RobertL's otherwise admirably thorough answer.

Make sure that the other users have actually logged into group admin:

A$ newgrp admin

Since the users are already in the group, I think you will not need to set a group password. If you do:

A$ sudo chgpasswd
admin:secret (typed into stdin)

Make sure that D's home directory is in group admin and is group-searchable.

D$ chgrp admin ~
D$ chmod g+x ~
D$ ls -lad ~
drwx--x--- 3 D admin 4096 Nov 24 19:25 /home/D

The directory needs to be searchable to allow users to enter it or its subdirectory project. It doesn't need to be group-readable, so D's own filenames are still private. To let the other users get to project easily, have them create symbolic links to it; otherwise, they'll have to type the whole path each time (autocomplete won't work because the shell can't read the pathname, it can only go to it).

Best Answer

Related Solutions

scp – How to Transfer a File from Local Directory to Remote Directory

File Permissions – Can Users in a Group Access a File in Another User’s Home Directory?

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