chmod 111 Permission Explained

Octal

111

Symbolic

--x--x--x

Binary

001 001 001

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: chmod 111 gives the owner execute, the group execute, and everyone else execute.

Class	Read (4)	Write (2)	Execute (1)	Octal
Owner (u)				1
Group (g)				1
Others (o)				1

setuid (4) setgid (2) sticky bit (1)

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

111

--x--x--x

Owner: execute · Group: execute · Others: execute

chmod 111 filename

Low Risk Even the owner cannot modify this file without changing permissions first.

View the full chmod 111 guide →

chmod 111 Breakdown

Class	Digit	Symbolic	On a file	On a directory
Owner (u)	`1`	`--x`	Execute only	Can enter (cd) but not list contents
Group (g)	`1`	`--x`	Execute only	Can enter (cd) but not list contents
Others (o)	`1`	`--x`	Execute only	Can enter (cd) but not list contents

Is chmod 111 Safe?

Low Risk

Even the owner cannot modify this file without changing permissions first.
Scripts need read permission to run; only compiled binaries can be executed without it.

Common Use Cases

111 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 711.

chmod 111 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 111 filename

# Apply using equivalent symbolic mode
chmod u=x,g=x,o=x filename

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 111 /path/to/dir
# Note: -R applies the same mode to files and directories. Use find to treat them separately:
find /path/to/dir -type d -exec chmod 111 {} +

# Verify permissions
stat -c '%a %A %n' filename    # Linux
stat -f '%Lp %Sp %N' filename   # macOS

# Example ls -l output:
---x--x--x 1 alice staff 1024 Jan 15 10:00 example.txt

umask Relationship

A umask of 666 makes new directories 111. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 111 mean?

chmod 111 gives the owner execute, the group execute, and everyone else execute. In octal notation, the owner receives 1 (execute), the group receives 1 (execute), and others receive 1 (execute).

Is chmod 111 safe?

chmod 111 is classified as Low Risk. Even the owner cannot modify this file without changing permissions first.

What is chmod 111 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 111 is represented as --x--x--x. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=x,g=x,o=x filename".