chmod 305 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

305

Symbolic

-wx---r-x

Binary

011 000 101

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: chmod 305 gives the owner write/execute, the group no access, and everyone else read/execute.

Class	Read (4)	Write (2)	Execute (1)	Octal
Owner (u)				3
Group (g)				0
Others (o)				5

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

305

-wx---r-x

Owner: write/execute · Group: no access · Others: read/execute

chmod 305 filename

Low Risk Any user can read this file — never use it for secrets such as keys or .env files.

View the full chmod 305 guide →

chmod 305 Breakdown

Class	Digit	Symbolic	On a file	On a directory
Owner (u)	`3`	`-wx`	Write and execute	Can enter and create/delete files, but not list
Group (g)	`0`	`---`	No access	Cannot list, enter, or modify
Others (o)	`5`	`r-x`	Read and execute	Can list and enter

Is chmod 305 Safe?

Low Risk

Any user can read this file — never use it for secrets such as keys or .env files.
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

305 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 755.

chmod 305 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 305 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 305 /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 305 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 472 makes new directories 305. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 305 mean?

chmod 305 gives the owner write/execute, the group no access, and everyone else read/execute. In octal notation, the owner receives 3 (write/execute), the group receives 0 (no access), and others receive 5 (read/execute).

Is chmod 305 safe?

chmod 305 is classified as Low Risk. Any user can read this file — never use it for secrets such as keys or .env files.

What is chmod 305 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 305 is represented as -wx---r-x. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=wx,g=,o=rx filename".