.Dd $Mdocdate: February 1 2026 $
.Dt CAN 1
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm can
.Nd query filesystem permissions
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm can
.Op Fl GghqU
.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