debugfs

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Aug 1, 2019 · Fundamentals

How to Retrieve File Creation, Access, and Modification Timestamps on Linux (ext4)

This guide explains Linux file timestamps (ATime, MTime, CTime), why creation time is missing on older filesystems, and provides step‑by‑step methods—including using stat, debugfs, and a custom shell script—to obtain a file’s creation (crtime) timestamp on ext4 systems.