Understanding Linux File Permissions
Linux file permissions control who can read, write, or execute a file. Here’s a simple breakdown:
- Read (r): If a file has read permission, it means you can view its contents. For example, you can read a text file to see what’s written in it.
- Write (w): Write permission allows you to modify or delete a file’s contents. You can edit a text file or delete it if you have write permission.
- Execute (x): Execute permission is needed to run a file as a program or script. For example, you need execute permission to run a shell script or execute a binary executable file.
Permissions are assigned to three categories of users:
- Owner: The user who owns the file.
- Group: A group of users who have similar permissions.
- Others: All other users who are not the owner or members of the group.
Each file has separate permissions for the owner, group, and others. For example, a file might have read and write permissions for the owner, read-only permissions for the group, and no permissions for others.
Here’s a simple representation of file permissions:
- –: No permission
- r: Read permission
- w: Write permission
- x: Execute permission
So, if you see something like “rw-r–r–“, it means the owner has read and write permissions, the group has read-only permission, and others have read-only permission.
That’s the basic idea of Linux file permissions in a nutshell!