
Full definition
Each inode holds: type (file, directory, link, device), permissions (rwx for user/group/other), UID/GID, timestamps (atime, mtime, ctime, crtime), size, hard-link count and pointers to data blocks (direct, indirect, double-indirect in ext2/3; extents in ext4). The filename is NOT in the inode: it lives in the directory pointing to the inode. In ext4 deleted-file recovery, the inode is typically zeroed but extents continue pointing to intact blocks until rewritten. Tools like extundelete rebuild inodes from journal and block bitmaps. In ZFS and APFS the scenario is more complex due to copy-on-write.
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