chmod 161 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

161

Symbolic

--xrw---x

Binary

001 110 001

Risk Level

Moderate

Summary: chmod 161 gives the owner execute, the group read/write, and everyone else execute.

Class	Read (4)	Write (2)	Execute (1)	Octal
Owner (u)				1
Group (g)				6
Others (o)				1

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

161

--xrw---x

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

chmod 161 filename

Moderate Every member of the group can modify this file.

View the full chmod 161 guide →

chmod 161 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)	`6`	`rw-`	Read and write	Can list names, cannot enter
Others (o)	`1`	`--x`	Execute only	Can enter (cd) but not list contents

Is chmod 161 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

161 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 775.

chmod 161 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 161 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 161 /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 161 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 616 makes new directories 161. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 161 mean?

chmod 161 gives the owner execute, the group read/write, and everyone else execute. In octal notation, the owner receives 1 (execute), the group receives 6 (read/write), and others receive 1 (execute).

Is chmod 161 safe?

chmod 161 is classified as Moderate. Every member of the group can modify this file.

What is chmod 161 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 161 is represented as --xrw---x. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=x,g=rw,o=x filename".