This LPIC-1 practice question tests your understanding of gnu and unix commands. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A developer wants to change the ownership of all files in a directory tree to the user 'www-data' and group 'www-data', but only files that are currently owned by user 'nobody'. Which command accomplishes this?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "which command"
Why it matters: Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
chown -R --from=nobody www-data:www-data /path
Option C is correct because the `chown -R --from=nobody www-data:www-data /path` command recursively changes ownership of files and directories only if they are currently owned by the user 'nobody'. The `--from` option specifies the current owner (and optionally group) to match before applying the change, and `-R` ensures recursion into subdirectories. This exactly meets the requirement to change ownership only for files owned by 'nobody'.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
This works but is less efficient and not a single command; chown --from is preferred.
✓
chown -R --from=nobody www-data:www-data /path
Why this is correct
Correctly uses recursive mode and the --from option to limit changes to files owned by nobody.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "which command" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
chown -R www-data:www-data /path
Why it's wrong here
This changes ownership of all files, not just those owned by nobody.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often forget the `-R` flag for recursion or overlook the `--from` option, leading them to choose a brute-force approach like `chown -R` (option D) that changes all files regardless of current ownership, or a more complex `find`-based solution (option B) that works but is not the most direct command tested.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
This works but is less efficient and not a single command; chown --from is preferred.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The `--from` option in `chown` is a GNU extension that allows conditional ownership changes based on the current owner (and optionally group). Under the hood, `chown` with `--from` performs a stat() call on each file to check the current UID/GID before applying the chown() syscall, making it more efficient than a separate `find` + `chown` pipeline because it avoids spawning multiple processes. In real-world scenarios, this is useful for migrating files from a deprecated user account (e.g., 'nobody') to a service account (e.g., 'www-data') without affecting files owned by other users.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
GNU and Unix Commands — This question tests GNU and Unix Commands — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: chown -R --from=nobody www-data:www-data /path — Option C is correct because the `chown -R --from=nobody www-data:www-data /path` command recursively changes ownership of files and directories only if they are currently owned by the user 'nobody'. The `--from` option specifies the current owner (and optionally group) to match before applying the change, and `-R` ensures recursion into subdirectories. This exactly meets the requirement to change ownership only for files owned by 'nobody'.
What should I do if I get this LPIC-1 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "which command". Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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