Linux file name restrictions

Most modern Linux and UNIX limit filename to 255 characters (255 bytes). However, some older version of UNIX system limits filenames to 14 characters only. A filename must be unique inside its directory. For example, inside /home/vivek directory you cannot create a demo.

1. What characters Cannot be in a file name?
2. Is allowed in Linux file name?
3. What is the maximum length for a filename under Linux?
4. What characters are allowed in file names?

What characters Cannot be in a file name?

Illegal Filename Characters

• # pound. % percent. & ampersand. left curly bracket. right curly bracket. \ back slash.
• < left angle bracket. > right angle bracket. * asterisk. ? question mark. / forward slash. ...
• $ dollar sign. ! exclamation point. ' single quotes. " double quotes. : colon. ...
• + plus sign. ` backtick. | pipe. = equal sign.

Is allowed in Linux file name?

so any byte except NUL , \ , / , : , * , ? , " , < , > , | and you can't have files/folders call . or .. and no control characters (of course). This is not correct. Linux doesn't allow / . Windows doesn't allow backslash and some strings (e.g. CON ).

What is the maximum length for a filename under Linux?

The Unicode representation of a character can occupy several bytes, so the maximum number of characters that a file name might contain can vary. On Linux: The maximum length for a file name is 255 bytes. The maximum combined length of both the file name and path name is 4096 bytes.

What characters are allowed in file names?

Supported characters for a file name are letters, numbers, spaces, and ( ) _ - , . *Please note file names should be limited to 100 characters. Characters that are NOT supported include, but are not limited to: @ $ % & \ / : * ? " ' < > | ~ ` # ^ + = [ ] ; !