chmod 334 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

334

Symbolic

-wx-wxr--

Binary

011 011 100

Risk Level

Moderate

Summary: chmod 334 gives the owner write/execute, the group write/execute, and everyone else read.

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

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

334

-wx-wxr--

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

chmod 334 filename

Moderate Every member of the group can modify this file.

View the full chmod 334 guide →

chmod 334 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)	`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 334 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.
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

334 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 775.

chmod 334 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 334 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 334 /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 334 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 443 makes new directories 334. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 334 mean?

chmod 334 gives the owner write/execute, the group write/execute, and everyone else read. In octal notation, the owner receives 3 (write/execute), the group receives 3 (write/execute), and others receive 4 (read).

Is chmod 334 safe?

chmod 334 is classified as Moderate. Every member of the group can modify this file.

What is chmod 334 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 334 is represented as -wx-wxr--. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=wx,g=wx,o=r filename".