chmod 744 Permission Explained: Owner-Executable, Read-Only for Others

Octal

744

Symbolic

rwxr--r--

Binary

111 100 100

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: Owner can run it; others can only read it.

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

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

744

rwxr--r--

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

chmod 744 filename

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

View the full chmod 744 guide →

chmod 744 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)	`4`	`r--`	Read only	Can list names, but not enter

Is chmod 744 Safe?

Low Risk

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

When not to use it

Directories (others cannot enter or traverse a directory without the execute bit)

Common Use Cases

Personal executable scripts that colleagues may inspect but not execute directly

chmod 744 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 744 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 744 /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 744 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 033 makes new directories 744. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 744 mean?

Owner can run it; others can only read it. In octal notation, the owner receives 7 (read/write/execute), the group receives 4 (read), and others receive 4 (read).

Is chmod 744 safe?

chmod 744 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 744 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 744 is represented as rwxr--r--. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=rwx,g=r,o=r filename".