Can't change file attributes

TidBITS Talk
1

I have a file (Mac OS 26.2) that I previously set to owner:read-only, group/world: no permissions. I need to update that file. But using either Finder attributes or the command line (including sudo) gets me “operation not permitted” when I try “chmod u+rw”

Anyone have any idea what’s going on and how to fix it? Increasingly Mac OS is getting more difficult to use, when “security features” break things that Used To Just Work!

dave

2

“Operation not permitted” would suggest that the file is locked, try:

chflags 0 “/path/to/file“

Then try your chmod command again.

4 Likes
3

Yup, that fixed it. I’m not a fan of extended attributes.