chmod 740 Permission Explained: Owner Full, Group Read

Octal

740

Symbolic

rwxr-----

Binary

111 100 000

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: Group can read but not run or enter.

Class	Read (4)	Write (2)	Execute (1)	Octal
Owner (u)				7
Group (g)				4
Others (o)				0

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

740

rwxr-----

Owner: read/write/execute · Group: read · Others: no access

chmod 740 filename

Low Risk

View the full chmod 740 guide →

chmod 740 Breakdown

Class	Digit	Symbolic	On a file	On a directory
Owner (u)	`7`	`rwx`	Full access	Full access: list, enter, create, delete
Group (g)	`4`	`r--`	Read only	Can list names, but not enter
Others (o)	`0`	`---`	No access	Cannot list, enter, or modify

Is chmod 740 Safe?

Low Risk

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

When not to use it

Directories where group members need to traverse or list files

Common Use Cases

Draft shell scripts or tool source code reviewed by team peers prior to release

chmod 740 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 740 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 740 /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 740 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 037 makes new directories 740. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 740 mean?

Group can read but not run or enter. In octal notation, the owner receives 7 (read/write/execute), the group receives 4 (read), and others receive 0 (no access).

Is chmod 740 safe?

chmod 740 is classified as Low Risk. It follows standard Linux access patterns.

What is chmod 740 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 740 is represented as rwxr-----. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=rwx,g=r,o= filename".