chmod 321 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

321

Symbolic

-wx-w---x

Binary

011 010 001

Risk Level

Moderate

Summary: chmod 321 gives the owner write/execute, the group write, and everyone else execute.

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

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

321

-wx-w---x

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

chmod 321 filename

Moderate Every member of the group can modify this file.

View the full chmod 321 guide →

chmod 321 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)	`2`	`-w-`	Write only (rarely useful)	No practical effect without x
Others (o)	`1`	`--x`	Execute only	Can enter (cd) but not list contents

Is chmod 321 Safe?

Moderate

Every member of the group can modify this file.
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

321 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 700.

chmod 321 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 321 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 321 /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 321 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 456 makes new directories 321. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 321 mean?

chmod 321 gives the owner write/execute, the group write, and everyone else execute. In octal notation, the owner receives 3 (write/execute), the group receives 2 (write), and others receive 1 (execute).

Is chmod 321 safe?

chmod 321 is classified as Moderate. Every member of the group can modify this file.

What is chmod 321 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 321 is represented as -wx-w---x. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=wx,g=w,o=x filename".