chmod 755 Permission Explained: Standard for Directories & Scripts

Octal

755

Symbolic

rwxr-xr-x

Binary

111 101 101

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: Owner has full control; everyone else can read and execute.

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

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

755

rwxr-xr-x

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

chmod 755 filename

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

View the full chmod 755 guide →

chmod 755 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)	`5`	`r-x`	Read and execute	Can list and enter

Is chmod 755 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 or files containing sensitive secrets, passwords, or private keys

Common Use Cases

Standard Linux directories and folder structures
Executable shell scripts and system binaries
Web server document roots (e.g., /var/www/html)

chmod 755 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 755 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 755 /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 755 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 022 makes new directories 755. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 755 mean?

Owner has full control; everyone else can read and execute. In octal notation, the owner receives 7 (read/write/execute), the group receives 5 (read/execute), and others receive 5 (read/execute).

Is chmod 755 safe?

chmod 755 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 755 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 755 is represented as rwxr-xr-x. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=rwx,g=rx,o=rx filename".

Should web files be 755 or 644?

Web files like HTML, CSS, images, and PHP scripts should be chmod 644, while directories must be 755. Files only require read permission for the web server to serve them, whereas directories require execute permission (the traverse bit) so the web server can enter and access contents inside. Giving files 755 unnecessarily marks them as executable programs.