Attrib
Applies To: Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8
Displays, sets, or removes attributes assigned to files or directories. If used without parameters, attrib displays attributes of all files in the current directory.
For examples of how to use this command, see Examples.
Syntax
attrib [{+|-}r] [{+|-}a] [{+|-}s] [{+|-}h] [{+|-}i] [<Drive>:][<Path>][<FileName>] [/s [/d] [/l]]
Parameters
Parameter |
Description |
|---|---|
{+|-}r |
Sets (+) or clears (-) the Read-only file attribute. |
{+|-}a |
Sets (+) or clears (-) the Archive file attribute. |
{+|-}s |
Sets (+) or clears (-) the System file attribute. |
{+|-}h |
Sets (+) or clears (-) the Hidden file attribute. |
{+|-}i |
Sets (+) or clears (-) the Not Content Indexed file attribute. |
[<Drive>:][<Path>][<FileName>] |
Specifies the location and name of the directory, file, or group of files for which you want to display or change attributes. You can use the ? and * wildcard characters in the FileName parameter to display or change the attributes for a group of files. |
/s |
Applies attrib and any command-line options to matching files in the current directory and all of its subdirectories. |
/d |
Applies attrib and any command-line options to directories. |
/l |
Applies attrib and any command-line options to the Symbolic Link, rather than the target of the Symbolic Link. |
/? |
Displays help at the command prompt. |
Remarks
You can use wildcard characters (? and *) with the FileName parameter to display or change the attributes for a group of files.
If a file has the System (s) or Hidden (h) attribute set, you must clear the attribute before you can change any other attributes for that file.
The Archive attribute (a) marks files that have changed since the last time they were backed up. Note that the **xcopy **command uses archive attributes.
Examples
To display the attributes of a file named News86 that is located in the current directory, type:
attrib news86
To assign the Read-only attribute to the file named Report.txt, type:
attrib +r report.txt
To remove the Read-only attribute from files in the Public directory and its subdirectories on a disk in drive B, type:
attrib -r b:\public\*.* /s
To set the Archive attribute for all files on drive A, and then clear the Archive attribute for files with the .bak extension, type:
attrib +a a:*.* & attrib -a a:*.bak