chown compatibility: `chown root: abc` doesn't change group
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U - chown
- Dominant language
- Rust
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Description
I noticed this today:
gnu/coreutils:
% mkdir abc
% stat -c%u:%g abc
1000:1000
% doas chown root: abc
% stat -c%u:%g abc
0:0
uutils/coreutils:
# mkdir abc
# chown 1000 abc
# chgrp 1000 abc
# stat -c%u:%g abc
1000:1000
# chown root: abc
# stat -c%u:%g abc
0:1000
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by locating the Rust implementation and tests for the chown command. Reproduce the issue with the commands shown, then compare the handling of a trailing colon with GNU coreutils. Done means chown root: abc produces the same ownership result as GNU coreutils, verified with the provided stat checks.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- rust
- Domain
- cli
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 45/100