chmod 131 Permission Explained

Notice: This is an unusual permission set: some classes have more access than the class above them. It is rarely correct in practice.

Octal

131

Symbolic

--x-wx--x

Binary

001 011 001

Risk Level

Moderate

Summary: chmod 131 gives the owner execute, the group write/execute, and everyone else execute.

Class	Read (4)	Write (2)	Execute (1)	Octal
Owner (u)				1
Group (g)				3
Others (o)				1

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

131

--x-wx--x

Owner: execute · Group: write/execute · Others: execute

chmod 131 filename

Moderate Every member of the group can modify this file.

View the full chmod 131 guide →

chmod 131 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)	`3`	`-wx`	Write and execute	Can enter and create/delete files, but not list
Others (o)	`1`	`--x`	Execute only	Can enter (cd) but not list contents

Is chmod 131 Safe?

Moderate

Every member of the group can modify this file.
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.
Unusual: a lower class has permissions the class above it lacks.

Common Use Cases

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

chmod 131 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 131 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 131 /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 131 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 646 makes new directories 131. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 131 mean?

chmod 131 gives the owner execute, the group write/execute, and everyone else execute. In octal notation, the owner receives 1 (execute), the group receives 3 (write/execute), and others receive 1 (execute).

Is chmod 131 safe?

chmod 131 is classified as Moderate. Every member of the group can modify this file.

What is chmod 131 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 131 is represented as --x-wx--x. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=x,g=wx,o=x filename".