.Dd $Mdocdate: February 1 2026 $
.Dt CAN 1
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm can
.Nd query filesystem permissions
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm can
.Op Fl GghqU
.Op Fl \-gid
.Op Fl \-group
.Op Fl \-help
.Op Fl \-quiet
.Op Fl \-uid
.Ar user
.Ar action
.Ar path
.Sh DESCRIPTION
The
.Nm
utility displays
.Dq yes
if the
.Ar user
can perform the specified
.Ar action
on the
.Ar path ,
and
.Dq no
otherwise.
.Pp
The options are as follows:
.Bl -tag -width xxxxxxxxxxxxx
.It Fl G , \-gid
Interpret
.Ar user
as a group id instead of a user name.
.It Fl g , \-group
Interpret
.Ar user
as a group name instead of a user name.
.It Fl h , \-help
Display a brief help message.
.It Fl q , \-quiet
Do not display
.Dq yes
or
.Dq no ,
just exit with the appropriate exit code (see
.Sx EXIT STATUS ) .
.It Fl U , \-uid
Interpret
.Ar user
as a user id instead of a user name.
.El
.Pp
The following actions are recognized:
.Bl -tag -width xxxxxxxxxxxxx
.It Cm read
Check for read permission.
.It Cm write , edit
Check for write permission.
.It Cm execute , run
Check for execute permission.
.El
.Sh EXIT STATUS
The
.Nm
utility exits 0 if the
.Ar user
can perform the specified
.Ar action
on the
.Ar path ,
and >0 otherwise or if an error occurs.
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr inode 7