--- name: "dpkg-statoverride" section: "1" platform: "linux" package: "dpkg" version: "1.23.11-1" release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/dpkg-statoverride" --- # dpkg-statoverride(1) override ownership and mode of files ## NAME dpkg-statoverride - override ownership and mode of files ## SYNOPSIS **dpkg-statoverride** \[*option*...\] *command* ## DESCRIPTION “**stat overrides**” are a way to tell [**dpkg**(1)](/dpkg/1.md) to use a different owner or mode for a path when a package is installed (this applies to any filesystem object that **dpkg** handles, including directories, devices, etc.). This can be used to force programs that are normally setuid to be install without a setuid flag, or only executable by a certain group. **dpkg-statoverride** is a utility to manage the list of stat overrides. It has three basic functions: adding, removing and listing overrides. ## COMMANDS - **--add** *user group mode path* Add an override for *path*. *path* does not need to exist nor be known to **dpkg** when this command is used; the override will be stored and used later. Users and groups can be specified by their name (for example **root** or **nobody**), or by their number by prepending the number with a ‘**#**’ (for example **#0** or **#65534**). The *mode* needs to be specified in octal. If **--update** is specified and *path* exists, it is immediately set to the new owner and mode. - **--remove** *path* Remove an override for *path*, the status of *path* is left unchanged by this command. - **--list** \[*glob-pattern*\] List all overrides. If a glob pattern is specified restrict the output to overrides which match the glob. - **--help** Show the usage message and exit. - **--force-help** Give help about the **--force-***thing* options. Supported since dpkg 1.19.5. - **--version** Show the version and exit. ## OPTIONS - **--admindir** *directory* Set the administrative directory to *directory*. This is where the *statoverride* file is stored. Defaults to «*/var/lib/dpkg*» if **DPKG\_ADMINDIR** has not been set. - **--instdir** *directory* Set the installation directory, which refers to the directory where packages get installed. Defaults to «*/*» if **DPKG\_ROOT** has not been set. Supported since dpkg 1.19.2. - **--root** *directory* Set the root directory to **directory**, which sets the installation directory to «*directory*» and the administrative directory to «*directory***/var/lib/dpkg**» if **DPKG\_ROOT** has not been set. Supported since dpkg 1.19.2. - **--force-***things* - **--no-force-***things*, **--refuse-***things* Force or refuse (**no-force** and **refuse** mean the same thing) to do some things. *things* is a comma separated list of things specified below. **--force-help** displays a message describing them. Things marked with (\*) are forced by default. Supported since dpkg 1.19.5. **Warning**: These options are mostly intended to be used by experts only. Using them without fully understanding their effects may break your whole system. - **all**: Turns on (or off) all force options. - **statoverride-add**: Overwrite an existing stat override when adding it. Supported since dpkg 1.19.5. - **statoverride-remove**: Ignore a missing stat override when removing it. Supported since dpkg 1.19.5. - **security-mac**(\*): Use platform-specific Mandatory Access Controls (MAC) based security when installing files into the filesystem. On Linux systems the implementation uses SELinux. Supported since dpkg 1.19.5. - **not-root**: Try to (de)install things even when not root. Supported since dpkg 1.21.8. - **--force** Force an action, even if a sanity check would otherwise prohibit it. This is necessary to override an existing override. Deprecated since dpkg 1.19.5, replaced by **--force-all**. - **--update** Immediately try to change the *path* to the new owner and mode if it exists. - **--quiet** Be less verbose about what we do. ## EXIT STATUS - **0** The requested action was successfully performed. - **1** For **--list**, if there are no overrides or none match the supplied glob. - **2** Fatal or unrecoverable error due to invalid command-line usage, or interactions with the system, such as accesses to the database, memory allocations, etc. ## ENVIRONMENT - **DPKG\_ROOT** If set and the **--instdir** or **--root** options have not been specified, it will be used as the filesystem root directory. Supported since dpkg 1.19.2. - **DPKG\_ADMINDIR** If set and the **--admindir** or **--root** options have not been specified, it will be used as the **dpkg** data directory. - **DPKG\_DEBUG** Sets the debug mask from an octal value. The currently accepted flags are described in the **dpkg --debug** option, but not all these flags might have an effect on this program. Supported since dpkg 1.21.10. - **DPKG\_FORCE** If set and none of the **--force-***...* options have been specified, it will be used as the force options to use. Supported since dpkg 1.19.5. - **DPKG\_COLORS** Sets the color mode. The currently accepted values are: **auto** (default), **always** and **never**. Supported since dpkg 1.18.5. - **DPKG\_NLS** If set, it will be used to decide whether to activate Native Language Support, also known as internationalization (or i18n) support. The accepted values are: **0** and **1** (default). Supported since dpkg 1.22.7. - **DPKG\_PATH\_PASSWD** Sets the pathname for the system *passwd* file. This path is relative to the **--root** directory. The default is */etc/passwd*. Supported since dpkg 1.22.16. - **DPKG\_PATH\_GROUP** Sets the pathname for the system *group* file. This path is relative to the **--root** directory. The default is */etc/group*. Supported since dpkg 1.22.16. ## FILES - */var/lib/dpkg/statoverride* File which contains the current list of stat overrides of the system. It is located in the **dpkg** administration directory, along with other files important to **dpkg**, such as *status* or *available*. **Note**: **dpkg-statoverride** preserves the old copy of this file, with extension “-old”, before replacing it with the new one. ## SEE ALSO [**dpkg**(1)](/dpkg/1.md).