File Permissions Guide

Here is a table explaining common file permissions in Linux/Unix systems, including their numeric (octal) and symbolic representations, along with a description of what each means:

Octal Symbolic Description
000----------No permissions
100--x------Execute permission for owner only
200-w-------Write permission for owner only
400r--------Read permission for owner only
600rw-------Read and write for owner
700rwx------Read, write, and execute for owner
644rw-r--r--Read and write for owner, read for group and others
755rwxr-xr-xRead, write, execute for owner; read and execute for group and others
775rwxrwxr-xRead, write, execute for owner and group; read and execute for others
777rwxrwxrwxRead, write, and execute for everyone

Explanation of Symbols

Structure of Symbolic Representation

The symbolic permission string (e.g., rwxr-xr--) is broken into three groups of three characters each:

  1. User (owner)
  2. Group
  3. Others

Example: