chmod 711 Permission Explained: Traverse Without Listing

Octal

711

Symbolic

rwx--x--x

Binary

111 001 001

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: Others can enter but not list contents.

Class	Read (4)	Write (2)	Execute (1)	Octal
Owner (u)				7
Group (g)				1
Others (o)				1

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

711

rwx--x--x

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

chmod 711 filename

Low Risk

View the full chmod 711 guide →

chmod 711 Breakdown

Class	Digit	Symbolic	On a file	On a directory
Owner (u)	`7`	`rwx`	Full access	Full access: list, enter, create, delete
Group (g)	`1`	`--x`	Execute only	Can enter (cd) but not list contents
Others (o)	`1`	`--x`	Execute only	Can enter (cd) but not list contents

Is chmod 711 Safe?

Low Risk

This permission configuration follows standard Linux access control principles with no elevated risk indicators.

When not to use it

Web document roots where users or web daemons need directory listing functionality

Common Use Cases

User home directories on shared hosting environments
Private parent directories containing public subfolders (e.g., ~/public_html)

chmod 711 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 711 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 711 /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 711 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 066 makes new directories 711. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 711 mean?

Others can enter but not list contents. In octal notation, the owner receives 7 (read/write/execute), the group receives 1 (execute), and others receive 1 (execute).

Is chmod 711 safe?

chmod 711 is classified as Low Risk. It follows standard Linux access patterns.

What is chmod 711 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 711 is represented as rwx--x--x. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=rwx,g=x,o=x filename".