whatis file-permissions
File Permissions (rwx)
Also known as: rwx, Unix permissions, mode bits
Read, write, and execute bits set separately for a file's owner, its group, and everyone else, shown as -rwxr-xr-- by ls -l.
How Do Linux File Permissions (rwx) Work?
Every file has three permission triplets: user (owner), group, and other. For files, r allows reading, w allows modifying, and x allows running. For directories, r lists names, w creates and deletes entries, and x allows entering and accessing items by name.
Each triplet maps to an octal digit (r=4, w=2, x=1), so rwxr-xr-x is 755 and rw-r--r-- is 644. They are changed with chmod and ownership with chown.
Example
ls -l script.sh
# -rwxr-xr-x 1 alice dev 214 script.shLearn more about File Permissions (rwx)
- How Linux Permissions Work Linux permissions control who can read, write, and execute every file and directory on the system. This guide explains the permission model from the basics through to special bits, umask, and ACLs.
- rwx Permissions Explained Every file and directory in Linux carries a read, write, and execute permission for the owner, group, and everyone else. This guide breaks down exactly what r, w, and x mean, especially the surprising difference on directories.
- chmod Command Explained chmod changes the read, write, and execute permissions on files and directories. This guide covers numeric mode, symbolic mode, recursive changes, and the most common chmod values used in practice.
Related tools
- chmod / chown Builder Work out permission octals and ownership commands with a visual rwx matrix.