chmod 344 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

344

Symbolic

-wxr--r--

Binary

011 100 100

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: chmod 344 gives the owner write/execute, the group read, and everyone else read.

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

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

344

-wxr--r--

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

chmod 344 filename

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

View the full chmod 344 guide →

chmod 344 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)	`4`	`r--`	Read only	Can list names, but not enter
Others (o)	`4`	`r--`	Read only	Can list names, but not enter

Is chmod 344 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

344 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 744.

chmod 344 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 344 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 344 /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 344 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 433 makes new directories 344. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 344 mean?

chmod 344 gives the owner write/execute, the group read, and everyone else read. In octal notation, the owner receives 3 (write/execute), the group receives 4 (read), and others receive 4 (read).

Is chmod 344 safe?

chmod 344 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 344 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 344 is represented as -wxr--r--. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=wx,g=r,o=r filename".