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chmod 220 Permission Explained

Octal
220
Symbolic
-w--w----
Binary
010 010 000
Risk Level
Moderate

Summary: chmod 220 gives the owner write, the group write, and everyone else no access.

Class Read (4) Write (2) Execute (1) Octal
Owner (u) 2
Group (g) 2
Others (o) 0
220
-w--w----
Owner: write · Group: write · Others: no access
chmod 220 filename
Moderate Every member of the group can modify this file.
View the full chmod 220 guide →
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chmod 220 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) 2 -w- Write only (rarely useful) No practical effect without x
Others (o) 0 --- No access Cannot list, enter, or modify

Is chmod 220 Safe?

Moderate

Common Use Cases

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

chmod 220 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 220 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 220 /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 220 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 557 makes new directories 220 and new files 220. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 220 mean?

chmod 220 gives the owner write, the group write, and everyone else no access. In octal notation, the owner receives 2 (write), the group receives 2 (write), and others receive 0 (no access).

Is chmod 220 safe?

chmod 220 is classified as Moderate. Every member of the group can modify this file.

What is chmod 220 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 220 is represented as -w--w----. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=w,g=w,o= filename".

Related Permissions

Change one bit:

chmod 620 add owner read chmod 020 remove owner write chmod 320 add owner execute chmod 260 add group read chmod 200 remove group write chmod 230 add group execute chmod 224 add others read chmod 222 add others write chmod 221 add others execute
← chmod 217 chmod 221 →

Related Guides

Linux File Permissions Explained
Master Linux file permissions. Understand owner, group, and others classes, read/write/execute ...
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