Cacls

---

title: "Cacls" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["reactos-commands"] description: "Microsoft Windows and ReactOS native command line utility" topic_path: "general/reactos-commands" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cacls" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Microsoft Windows and ReactOS native command line utility ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox software"]

Field	Value
name	cacls
screenshot	ReactOS-0.4.13 cacls command 667x674.png
caption	The ReactOS cacls command
developer	Microsoft, Thomas Weidenmueller
released
operating system	Microsoft Windows, ReactOS
genre	Command
license	Windows: Proprietary commercial software
ReactOS: GNU Lesser General Public License
website
::

In Microsoft Windows, cacls, and its replacement icacls, are native command-line utilities that can display and modify the security descriptors on files and folders. An access-control list is a list of permissions for securable object, such as a file or folder, that controls who can access it. The cacls command is also available on ReactOS.

cacls

| name = cacls | logo = | screenshot = ReactOS-0.4.13 cacls command 667x674.png | screenshot size = | caption = The ReactOS cacls command | developer = Microsoft, Thomas Weidenmueller | released = | latest release version = | latest release date = | operating system = Microsoft Windows, ReactOS | genre = Command | license = Windows: Proprietary commercial software ReactOS: GNU Lesser General Public License | website = The cacls.exe utility is a deprecated command line editor of directory and file security descriptors in Windows NT 3.5 and later operating systems of the Windows NT family. Microsoft has produced the following newer utilities, some also subsequently deprecated, that offer enhancements to support changes introduced with version 3.0 of the NTFS filesystem:

• xcacls.exe is supported by Windows 2000 and later and adds new features like setting Execute, Delete and Take Ownership permissions
• xcacls.vbs
• fileacl.exe
• icacls.exe (included in Windows Server 2003 SP2 and later)
• SubInAcl.exe - Resource Kit utility to set and replace permissions on various type of objects including files, services and registry keys
• Windows PowerShell (Get-Acl and Set-Acl cmdlets)

The ReactOS version was developed by Thomas Weidenmueller and is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License.

icacls

| name = icacls | logo = | screenshot = | screenshot size = | caption = | developer = Microsoft | released = | latest release version = | latest release date = | operating system = Microsoft Windows | genre = Command | license = Proprietary commercial software | website = Stands for Integrity Control Access Control List. Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 and later include icacls, an in-box command-line utility that can display, modify, backup and restore ACLs for files and folders, as well as to set integrity levels and ownership in Vista and later versions. It is not a complete replacement for cacls, however. For example, it does not support Security Descriptor Definition Language (SDDL) syntax directly via command line parameters (only via the /restore option).

References

References

1. "Microsoft DOS cacls command". Computer Hope.
2. "CACLS.exe". SS64.com.
3. "MS-DOS and Windows command line calcs command".
4. (2 March 2007). "How to use Xcacls.exe to modify NTFS permissions (Revision: 4.5)". Microsoft Corporation.
5. (28 March 2003). "Xcacls syntax". Microsoft Corporation.
6. (15 May 2002). "Windows 2000 Resource Kit Tool: Xcacls.exe". Microsoft Corporation.
7. (10 August 2004). "Windows XP Service Pack 2 Support Tools". Microsoft Corporation.
8. (30 October 2006). "How to use Xcacls.vbs to modify NTFS permissions (Revision: 2.4)". Microsoft Corporation.
9. "Extended Change Access Control List Tool (Xcacls)". Microsoft Corporation.
10. (2004-03-23). "FILEACL v3.0.1.6". [[Microsoft]].
11. (9 October 2011). "The Icacls.exe utility is available for Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 (Revision: 4.0)". Microsoft Corporation.
12. (28 September 2007). "Icacls". Microsoft Corporation.
13. (21 April 2010). "Get-Acl". Microsoft Corporation.
14. (21 April 2010). "Set-Acl". Microsoft Corporation.
15. {{GitHub. https://github.com/reactos/reactos/blob/master/base/applications/cacls/cacls.c
16. [https://www.computerhope.com/icacls.htm MS-DOS and Windows command line icacls command]

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::