chmod 234 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

234

Symbolic

-w--wxr--

Binary

010 011 100

Risk Level

Moderate

Summary: chmod 234 gives the owner write, the group write/execute, and everyone else read.

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

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

234

-w--wxr--

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

chmod 234 filename

Moderate Every member of the group can modify this file.

View the full chmod 234 guide →

chmod 234 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)	`3`	`-wx`	Write and execute	Can enter and create/delete files, but not list
Others (o)	`4`	`r--`	Read only	Can list names, but not enter

Is chmod 234 Safe?

Moderate

Every member of the group can modify this file.
Any user can read this file — never use it for secrets such as keys or .env files.
Unusual: a lower class has permissions the class above it lacks.

Common Use Cases

234 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 664.

chmod 234 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 234 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 234 /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 234 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 543 makes new directories 234. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 234 mean?

chmod 234 gives the owner write, the group write/execute, and everyone else read. In octal notation, the owner receives 2 (write), the group receives 3 (write/execute), and others receive 4 (read).

Is chmod 234 safe?

chmod 234 is classified as Moderate. Every member of the group can modify this file.

What is chmod 234 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 234 is represented as -w--wxr--. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=w,g=wx,o=r filename".

Related Permissions

Change one bit:

chmod 634 add owner read chmod 034 remove owner write chmod 334 add owner execute chmod 274 add group read chmod 214 remove group write chmod 224 remove group execute chmod 230 remove others read chmod 236 add others write chmod 235 add others execute

← chmod 233 chmod 235 →

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