Whatfiles is a Linux utility that logs what files another program reads/writes/creates/deletes on your system. It traces any new processes and threads that are created by the targeted process as well.

Rationale

I’ve long been frustrated at the lack of a simple utility to see which files a process touches from main() to exit. Whether you don’t trust a software vendor or are concerned about malware, it’s important to be able to know what a program or installer does to your system. lsof only observes a moment in time and strace is large and somewhat complicated.

Sample output

mode: read, file: /home/theron/.gimp-2.8/tool-options/gimp-clone-tool, syscall: openat(), PID: 8566, process: gimp
mode: read, file: /home/theron/.gimp-2.8/tool-options/gimp-heal-tool, syscall: openat(), PID: 8566, process: gimp
mode: read, file: /home/theron/.gimp-2.8/tool-options/gimp-perspective-clone-tool, syscall: openat(), PID: 8566, process: gimp
mode: read, file: /home/theron/.gimp-2.8/tool-options/gimp-convolve-tool, syscall: openat(), PID: 8566, process: gimp
mode: read, file: /home/theron/.gimp-2.8/tool-options/gimp-smudge-tool, syscall: openat(), PID: 8566, process: gimp
mode: read, file: /home/theron/.gimp-2.8/tool-options/gimp-dodge-burn-tool, syscall: openat(), PID: 8566, process: gimp
mode: read, file: /home/theron/.gimp-2.8/tool-options/gimp-desaturate-tool, syscall: openat(), PID: 8566, process: gimp
mode: read, file: /home/theron/.gimp-2.8/plug-ins, syscall: openat(), PID: 8566, process: gimp
mode: read, file: /usr/lib/gimp/2.0/plug-ins, syscall: openat(), PID: 8566, process: gimp
mode: read, file: /home/theron/.gimp-2.8/pluginrc, syscall: openat(), PID: 8566, process: gimp
mode: read, file: /usr/share/locale/en_US/LC_MESSAGES/gimp20-std-plug-ins.mo, syscall: openat(), PID: 8566, process: gimp
mode: read, file: /usr/lib/gimp/2.0/plug-ins/script-fu, syscall: openat(), PID: 8566, process: gimp
mode: read, file: /etc/ld.so.cache, syscall: openat(), PID: 8574, process: /usr/lib/gimp/2.0/plug-ins/script-fu
mode: read, file: /etc/ld.so.cache, syscall: openat(), PID: 8574, process: /usr/lib/gimp/2.0/plug-ins/script-fu
mode: read, file: /usr/lib/libgimpui-2.0.so.0, syscall: openat(), PID: 8574, process: /usr/lib/gimp/2.0/plug-ins/script-fu
mode: read, file: /usr/lib/libgimpwidgets-2.0.so.0, syscall: openat(), PID: 8574, process: /usr/lib/gimp/2.0/plug-ins/script-fu
mode: read, file: /usr/lib/libgimpwidgets-2.0.so.0, syscall: openat(), PID: 8574, process: /usr/lib/gimp/2.0/plug-ins/script-fu
mode: read, file: /usr/lib/libgimp-2.0.so.0, syscall: openat(), PID: 8574, process: /usr/lib/gimp/2.0/plug-ins/script-fu
mode: read, file: /usr/lib/libgimpcolor-2.0.so.0, syscall: openat(), PID: 8574, process: /usr/lib/gimp/2.0/plug-ins/script-fu

Use

  • basic use, launches ls and writes output to a log file in the current directory:$ whatfiles ls -lah ~/Documents
  • specify output file location with -o:$ whatfiles -o MyLogFile cd ..
  • include debug output, print to stdout rather than log file:$ whatfiles -d -s apt install zoom
  • attach to currently running process (requires root privileges):$ sudo whatfiles -p 1234

Compilation (requires gcc and make)

$ cd whatfiles
$ make
$ sudo make install

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