Understanding Permission Types: User, Group, Others

Understanding Permission Types in Linux: User, Group, Others

Welcome to this Linux tutorial! In this session, we’ll break down how file permissions work in Linux.

As a beginner, this might seem confusing at first—but don’t worry. By the end of this video, you’ll clearly understand what those rwxr-xr-- things mean when you list files using ls -l.

🔍 What are Linux File Permissions?

In Linux, every file and directory has a set of permissions associated with it. These permissions determine who can do what with a file.

There are three types of users:

• User – the owner of the file
• Group – other users who belong to the same group
• Others – everyone else on the system

👀 Viewing Permissions

Let’s list files with permissions using ls -l:

ls -l

-rwxr-xr--  1 alice devs  1024 Jul 1 10:00 script.sh

This line can be read like this:

• - means it's a regular file (not a directory)
• rwx → user (alice) has read, write, and execute permissions
• r-x → group (devs) has read and execute permissions
• r-- → others have read-only permission

🔤 Breaking Down the Permission String

The permission part rwxr-xr-- is split into three blocks:

• First 3 (rwx): for the user
• Next 3 (r-x): for the group
• Last 3 (r--): for others

Each character means:

• r: read – can view contents
• w: write – can edit or delete
• x: execute – can run the file (if it’s a script or program)

📁 Example with a Directory

ls -ld myfolder

drwxr-x---  2 bob staff 4096 Jul 1 12:00 myfolder

This tells us:

• d: it's a directory
• rwx: bob (the owner) can list, add, or remove files in the folder
• r-x: group members can list and access files (but not create or delete)
• ---: others have no access at all

🛠️ Quick Tips

• To change file permissions: chmod
• To change file owner: chown
• To change file group: chgrp

✅ Summary

Permissions help protect your files in a multi-user system. Always set them based on who really needs access.

That’s it for this video! In the next session, we’ll explore how to change permissions using chmod.

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