chmod 355 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

355

Symbolic

-wxr-xr-x

Binary

011 101 101

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: chmod 355 gives the owner write/execute, the group read/execute, and everyone else read/execute.

Class	Read (4)	Write (2)	Execute (1)	Octal
Owner (u)				3
Group (g)				5
Others (o)				5

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

355

-wxr-xr-x

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

chmod 355 filename

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

View the full chmod 355 guide →

chmod 355 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)	`5`	`r-x`	Read and execute	Can list and enter
Others (o)	`5`	`r-x`	Read and execute	Can list and enter

Is chmod 355 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

355 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 755.

chmod 355 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 355 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 355 /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 355 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 422 makes new directories 355. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 355 mean?

chmod 355 gives the owner write/execute, the group read/execute, and everyone else read/execute. In octal notation, the owner receives 3 (write/execute), the group receives 5 (read/execute), and others receive 5 (read/execute).

Is chmod 355 safe?

chmod 355 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 355 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 355 is represented as -wxr-xr-x. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=wx,g=rx,o=rx filename".