View File Permissions in Linux

How to View File Permissions in Linux

Welcome to this Linux beginner tutorial. Today, we’ll learn how to view file permissions using the ls -l command. Permissions in Linux determine who can read, write, or execute a file — and they’re essential for system security and control.

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Open your terminal

You can use any terminal. If you're using a Mac or Linux machine, just open the Terminal app. On Windows, use WSL or any Linux shell.

Step 2: Use the `ls -l` command

Let’s look at the contents of your current directory in long listing format:

ls -l

You’ll see an output that looks like this:

-rw-r--r--  1 user  user   1024 Jul  2 10:00  notes.txt
drwxr-xr-x  2 user  user   4096 Jul  1 09:30  documents
-rwxr-xr--  1 user  user   2048 Jul  1 14:15  script.sh

Step 3: Understand the output

Let’s break down the line for script.sh:

-rwxr-xr--  1 user  user   2048 Jul  1 14:15  script.sh

-: This indicates it's a file (d for directory)
rwx: The owner (user) has read (r), write (w), and execute (x) permissions
r-x: The group has read and execute permissions
r--: Others (everyone else) only have read permission

The permissions are grouped like this:

First character: File type (- for file, d for directory)
Next 3 characters: User permissions
Next 3 characters: Group permissions
Last 3 characters: Others (world) permissions

Step 4: Try it yourself

Create a file and check its permissions:

touch test.txt
ls -l test.txt

-rw-r--r--  1 user  user  0 Jul 2 11:00 test.txt

This tells us that the user can read and write the file, while the group and others can only read it.

Step 5: View permissions of all files and folders

You can also view permissions recursively inside subdirectories:

ls -lR

This is useful if you want to audit the entire structure.

Summary

File permissions in Linux control who can do what with a file or folder. Use ls -l to view them. Each permission set is shown as a series of characters, grouped by owner, group, and others.

Understanding permissions is the first step to becoming confident in managing your Linux system securely and effectively.