inode-change-time · shipping · also ctime, Status change time, Last status change time

Inode change time

Inode change time (ctime) is the filesystem timestamp of the latest change to a file's inode status, including content writes and changes to selected metadata.

On Linux, writes and changes to permissions, ownership or link count update ctime. It is not creation time; btime is a separate field where supported. Setting atime or mtime with utimensat() normally updates ctime, even if the requested values are unchanged; specifying UTIME_OMIT for both timestamps leaves all timestamps unchanged. [1] [2]

The default rsync quick check does not compare ctime. A ctime change alone therefore does not ensure that rsync reads or transfers file contents. [4]

A stat-family call does not freeze the file. Returned fields can reflect different instants when another process changes metadata. A descriptor identifies the open file but does not provide a consistent backup snapshot. [3]

Relations

related
Inode, File modification time, File access time, File birth time, Rsync quick check

Advantages

  • Distinguishes inode status changes from content modification time.

Limitations

  • Does not identify which content or metadata changed.
  • Not a file creation timestamp or a complete audit trail.

Citations

  1. Linux man-pages: inode(7) (accessed 2026-10-21)
  2. Linux man-pages: utimensat(2) (accessed 2026-10-21)
  3. Linux man-pages: stat(2), concurrent metadata observations (accessed 2026-10-21)
  4. rsync(1): default quick-check file selection (accessed 2026-10-21)

Further reading

  1. Hesela: interpreting file timestamps during rsync selection (accessed 2026-10-21)

JSON: /data/terms/inode-change-time.json

Published by Hesela team · Updated

Report a correction · Editorial standards · Reuse guidance

Cite this page
Hesela team. Inode change time. Hesela. 2026-10-21. https://hesela.dev/terms/inode-change-time/