chmod 314 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

314

Symbolic

-wx--xr--

Binary

011 001 100

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: chmod 314 gives the owner write/execute, the group execute, and everyone else read.

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

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

314

-wx--xr--

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

chmod 314 filename

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

View the full chmod 314 guide →

chmod 314 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)	`4`	`r--`	Read only	Can list names, but not enter

Is chmod 314 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

314 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 754.

chmod 314 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 314 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 314 /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 314 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 463 makes new directories 314. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 314 mean?

chmod 314 gives the owner write/execute, the group execute, and everyone else read. In octal notation, the owner receives 3 (write/execute), the group receives 1 (execute), and others receive 4 (read).

Is chmod 314 safe?

chmod 314 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 314 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 314 is represented as -wx--xr--. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=wx,g=x,o=r filename".