unable to chown a directory recursiverly "unknown user id"

Question

I trying to chown the directory for changing the permissions of the directory. But it shows some error as unknown user id

I tried to chown using the command : chown -R www-data [directory name]

it shows the error as unknown user id www-data

How to get rid of this.

I'm guessing you're using a guide for a Debian-based distro which has a www-data user, except you're trying to use the guide on a distro that doesn't have that user. Please point to the guide and tell us what distro you're using. — derobert
– derobert, Commented Jun 13, 2014 at 2:00
yes, you are true. I'm using Debian-based distro, actually this problem occurred in webdesigning in drupal. I couldn't get write permissions for a directory. — giri
– giri, Commented Jun 13, 2014 at 2:03
If you're using a Debian-based distro, you should have a www-data user. I'd figure out why you don't. — derobert
– derobert, Commented Jun 13, 2014 at 2:05

Braiam · Accepted Answer · 2014-06-12 23:06:03Z

3

Your problem is simple, that user/id doesn't exist:

$ chown adsfadsf files chown: invalid user: ‘adsfadsf’

Verify the user exist and try again.

answered Jun 12, 2014 at 23:00

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