chmod 754 Permission Explained: Owner Full, Group Execute, Others Read

Octal

754

Symbolic

rwxr-xr--

Binary

111 101 100

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: Group can run it; others only read.

Class	Read (4)	Write (2)	Execute (1)	Octal
Owner (u)				7
Group (g)				5
Others (o)				4

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

754

rwxr-xr--

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

chmod 754 filename

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

View the full chmod 754 guide →

chmod 754 Breakdown

Class	Digit	Symbolic	On a file	On a directory
Owner (u)	`7`	`rwx`	Full access	Full access: list, enter, create, delete
Group (g)	`5`	`r-x`	Read and execute	Can list and enter
Others (o)	`4`	`r--`	Read only	Can list names, but not enter

Is chmod 754 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

Standard directories where other users need to cd inside

Common Use Cases

Specialized utility scripts executed by a deployment group while public users may inspect code

chmod 754 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 754 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 754 /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 754 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 023 makes new directories 754. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 754 mean?

Group can run it; others only read. In octal notation, the owner receives 7 (read/write/execute), the group receives 5 (read/execute), and others receive 4 (read).

Is chmod 754 safe?

chmod 754 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 754 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 754 is represented as rwxr-xr--. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=rwx,g=rx,o=r filename".