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With umask, I can determine the permissions for newly created files. But if I am a member of multiple groups, how do I set the default group for newly created files?

This question seems relevant, but its answers relate how the system administrator can change the default group for a particular user. I am not system administrator, but just a mere user, and have no permission to do usermod -g even on myself. So how would I proceed to set the default group for newly created files?

Community
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gerrit
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1 Answers1

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To change your default group on the fly, use newgrp:

newgrp some_group

After running that command, you will be in a new shell with your group set to some_group and files that you create will be in group some_group. newgrp may or may not ask for a password depending on how permissions are set.

Related: To find out which groups you belong to, run groups.

John1024
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    Just tested this, groups (at least on Arch) sorts them by numerical value, the primary group is not the first listed. Use id to get these details. – orion Mar 04 '14 at 19:30
  • @orion I checked the documentation and found nothing to support the claim about the primary group. Answer updated. – John1024 Mar 04 '14 at 19:48
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    It's important to note that newgrp launches a new shell. I don't think there's any way to change the default group for an existing process. – Keith Thompson Mar 04 '14 at 20:12