Chmod calculator
Permission checkboxes, octal and symbolic notation, kept in sync.
FreeRuns in your browserNo signupUpdated 2026-10-29
Permissions
Special bits
Owner is the user who owns the file, group is its group, others is everyone else on the machine.
Octal
755
What chmod and most hosting panels expect
Symbolic
rwxr-xr-x
What ls -l shows
Who can do what
| Class | Digit | Can |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | 7 | read, write, execute |
| Group | 5 | read, execute |
| Others | 5 | read, execute |
chmod 755 public_html/index.php
Common values
About this tool
How it works and how to read the result.
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See the serviceWhat it does
A chmod calculator turns file permission checkboxes into the octal number and symbolic string that Linux, macOS and every hosting control panel use, and does the reverse when you type a value you found in an error message or an ls listing. Tick read, write and execute for the owner, group and others, and the octal value, the rwx form, a ready-to-run chmod command and a plain-English table update together. Common values such as 644, 755 and 600 are a click away, and a badge flags world-writable settings.
How to use it
- Tick the permissions each class should have, or type an octal value such as 644 or a symbolic string such as rw-r--r-- and the checkboxes follow.
- Enter the file or directory path so the command is ready to paste.
- Check the badge. Red means anyone on the server can write to the file.
- Copy the chmod command, or click a preset to start from a sensible value.
How to read the result
The default value is 755, shown as rwxr-xr-x. The owner has read, write and execute, the group has read and execute, and others have read and execute. That is right for a directory, since execute on a directory means "can enter it", and for a script that the web server must run. The command reads chmod 755 public_html/index.php.
Change it to 644 and the execute bits vanish, giving rw-r--r--. That is the standard for ordinary files such as PHP, HTML and images; the web server reads them, and only the owner can change them. Switch to 600, rw-------, for a file with database credentials, and the badge notes that others have no access at all.
A leading fourth digit appears when a special bit is ticked. 2775 adds setgid to a shared directory so new files inherit its group, useful for deploy folders.
Permission mistakes are one of the most common causes of the "500 error after migration" tickets we handle under website maintenance. If the error itself is unclear, the HTTP status code reference explains what the server is saying.
Questions
Frequently asked.
What permissions should website files have?
On a typical shared or VPS host, files should be 644 and directories 755. That lets the web server read everything and the owner edit it, while nobody else can write. Configuration files holding secrets, such as wp-config.php or .env, are better at 600 so only the owner can read them.
Why does 777 fix my upload error, and why is it bad?
It fixes it because it lets every account on the server write to the folder, including the web server process. It is bad for the same reason: any compromised script or neighbouring account can then write there too. The proper fix is to make the folder owned by, or group-writable for, the web server user and use 755 or 775.
What do the three digits mean?
Each digit is a sum: read is 4, write is 2 and execute is 1. The first digit is for the file's owner, the second for the group and the third for everyone else. So 7 is all three, 5 is read plus execute, 4 is read only, and 0 is no access. A fourth leading digit sets setuid, setgid or the sticky bit.
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