chmod 201 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
201
Symbolic
-w------x
Binary
010 000 001
Risk Level
Low Risk

Summary: chmod 201 gives the owner write, the group no access, and everyone else execute.

Class Read (4) Write (2) Execute (1) Octal
Owner (u) 2
Group (g) 0
Others (o) 1
201
-w------x
Owner: write · Group: no access · Others: execute
chmod 201 filename
Low Risk Unusual: a lower class has permissions the class above it lacks.
View the full chmod 201 guide →
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chmod 201 Breakdown

Class Digit Symbolic On a file On a directory
Owner (u) 2 -w- Write only (rarely useful) No practical effect without x
Group (g) 0 --- No access Cannot list, enter, or modify
Others (o) 1 --x Execute only Can enter (cd) but not list contents

Is chmod 201 Safe?

Low Risk

Common Use Cases

201 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 600.

chmod 201 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 201 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 201 /path/to/dir
# Note: -R applies the same mode to files and directories. Use find to treat them separately:
find /path/to/dir -type f -exec chmod 201 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 576 makes new directories 201. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 201 mean?

chmod 201 gives the owner write, the group no access, and everyone else execute. In octal notation, the owner receives 2 (write), the group receives 0 (no access), and others receive 1 (execute).

Is chmod 201 safe?

chmod 201 is classified as Low Risk. Unusual: a lower class has permissions the class above it lacks.

What is chmod 201 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 201 is represented as -w------x. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=w,g=,o=x filename".

Related Permissions

Change one bit:

← chmod 200 chmod 202 →

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