FILELISTDIRECTORY

FILE_LIST_DIRECTORY is a Windows access right defined in the Windows API that permits listing the contents of a directory. It is part of the set of FILE_x rights used with the CreateFile and related functions to control the level of access granted to a file system object. The concatenated form FILELISTDIRECTORY is sometimes seen in code or documentation, but the canonical name in header files like WinNT.h is FILE_LIST_DIRECTORY.

Usage: A process requests this right by including FILE_LIST_DIRECTORY in the desired access mask when opening a handle to a directory (for example, using CreateFile with OPEN_EXISTING). With such a handle, the process can enumerate entries via API calls such as FindFirstFile/FindNextFile or NtQueryDirectoryFile, and can participate in directory change notifications (for example, responding to FILE_NOTIFY_CHANGE_* events).

Value and semantics: In the Windows headers, FILE_LIST_DIRECTORY has the value 0x0001, and is often bitwise ORed with other rights. It is a standard, documented constant in WinNT.h. Whether a process can list a directory depends on the object's ACL; lacking this right will typically result in access denied for enumeration.

Notes: In practice, obtaining a directory handle may require additional flags such as FILE_FLAG_BACKUP_SEMANTICS for certain directory paths or virtualization layers. The right is primarily used in low-level file system or driver code, while higher-level APIs may abstract away explicit rights for normal applications.