What are file and directory permissions in Linux?

Overview

In Linux, the file permissions help to access, write, and execute the files. These permissions restrict the other users from performing an unauthorized activity, and thus they maintain security.

Permissions

There are three principal permissions in Linux.

Read

The read permission provides the capability to read/view the file's contents. We execute this permission with the letter r.

Write

The write permission provides the ability to modify the file, i.e., add or remove contents from the file. We execute this permission with the letter w.

Execute

The execute authorization offers the ability to run the file. For example, you'll need this permission to run a shell script. The letter x describes this permission.

User classes

The Linux permissions model has three user categories. Every user class has its reading, writing, and executing permissions set. Here're the three categories:

1. Owner: The owner category provides info about an owner's actions.
2. Group: The group describes a group member's actions associated with the file/directory.
3. Other: Similarly, the other category describes actions that the other member can perform.

Checking file permissions

We use the ls command to check the file permissions with an extension l indicating the long list format. Here's a syntax and an example.

Explanation

The ls -l command returned us information about 45 contents within the directory. The first column in the results indicates the permissions for the owner, group, and other categories.

• Line 5: This represents the file (file.txt).

1. The first character - indicates that this is a file.
2. The following three characters rw- indicate that the owner can read and write the file.
3. The following three characters r-- indicate that the group members only have read permission.
4. Finally, the last three characters r-- indicate that the other members will only have read permission.