chmod 311 Permission Explained

Octal

311

Symbolic

-wx--x--x

Binary

011 001 001

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: chmod 311 gives the owner write/execute, the group execute, and everyone else execute.

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

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

311

-wx--x--x

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

chmod 311 filename

Low Risk Scripts need read permission to run; only compiled binaries can be executed without it.

View the full chmod 311 guide →

chmod 311 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)	`1`	`--x`	Execute only	Can enter (cd) but not list contents
Others (o)	`1`	`--x`	Execute only	Can enter (cd) but not list contents

Is chmod 311 Safe?

Low Risk

Scripts need read permission to run; only compiled binaries can be executed without it.

Common Use Cases

311 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 711.

chmod 311 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 311 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 311 /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 311 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 466 makes new directories 311. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 311 mean?

chmod 311 gives the owner write/execute, the group execute, and everyone else execute. In octal notation, the owner receives 3 (write/execute), the group receives 1 (execute), and others receive 1 (execute).

Is chmod 311 safe?

chmod 311 is classified as Low Risk. Scripts need read permission to run; only compiled binaries can be executed without it.

What is chmod 311 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 311 is represented as -wx--x--x. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=wx,g=x,o=x filename".