From the beginning, Linux has made it possible for admins and users to get fairly granular with file and folder permissions. From the user perspective, it’s simple: If you created a file, you own it and have permission to read or write to the file. But that doesn’t always apply to the ability to execute a file. For that, you have to add an extra permission.

It can get confusing, especially when you consider there are two ways to look at permissions: Octal and Symbolic. It is the Octal method that causes the most confusion.

This guide, written by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic Premium, will examine both of these methods of setting permissions.

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The first method we’ll use is the Symbolic method. This permission method uses symbols to represent the different permissions for a user or group.

Every permission is listed in this order:

rwx

• r – read

• w – write

• x – execute

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TIME SAVED: Crafting this content required 20 hours of dedicated writing, editing and research.