chmod 714 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

714

Symbolic

rwx--xr--

Binary

111 001 100

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: chmod 714 gives the owner read/write/execute, the group execute, and everyone else read.

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

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

714

rwx--xr--

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

chmod 714 filename

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

View the full chmod 714 guide →

chmod 714 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)	`4`	`r--`	Read only	Can list names, but not enter

Is chmod 714 Safe?

Low Risk

Any user can read this file — never use it for secrets such as keys or .env files.
Unusual: a lower class has permissions the class above it lacks.

Common Use Cases

714 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 754.

chmod 714 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 714 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 714 /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 714 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 063 makes new directories 714. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 714 mean?

chmod 714 gives the owner read/write/execute, the group execute, and everyone else read. In octal notation, the owner receives 7 (read/write/execute), the group receives 1 (execute), and others receive 4 (read).

Is chmod 714 safe?

chmod 714 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 714 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 714 is represented as rwx--xr--. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=rwx,g=x,o=r filename".