From 57fce5e27522bde30cc191e9b2a779c32b44e3e1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: ALISHA Date: Sat, 2 May 2026 16:02:37 +0530 Subject: [PATCH] chmod: clarify mode specification and add usage examples --- man/chmod.x | 35 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 35 insertions(+) diff --git a/man/chmod.x b/man/chmod.x index 39749f0bf..1f332f35e 100644 --- a/man/chmod.x +++ b/man/chmod.x @@ -15,6 +15,18 @@ changes the file mode bits of each given file according to which can be either a symbolic representation of changes to make, or an octal number representing the bit pattern for the new mode bits. .PP +Modes may be specified in numeric (octal) form or symbolic form. + +The numeric form uses three octal digits representing permissions for +the owner, group, and others, respectively. For example, a mode of 755 +grants read, write, and execute permissions to the owner, and +read and execute permissions to group members and others. + +The symbolic form uses combinations of the letters \fBu\fP, \fBg\fP, +\fBo\fP, and \fBa\fP to represent the user, group, others, and all +users, respectively, together with operators such as \fB+\fP, +\fB-\fP, and \fB=\fP. + The format of a symbolic mode is [\c \fBugoa\fP.\|.\|.][[\fB-+=\fP][\fIperms\fP.\|.\|.].\|.\|.], where @@ -118,3 +130,26 @@ quickly when run; this is called the .SH OPTIONS [SEE ALSO] chmod(2) + +.SH EXAMPLES +.PP +Set read, write, and execute permissions for the owner, and +read and execute permissions for group and others: + + chmod 755 file.sh + +Allow only the owner to read and write a file: + + chmod 600 secret.txt + +Add execute permission for the owner: + + chmod u+x script.sh + +Remove write permission for group and others: + + chmod go-w file.txt + +Recursively set permissions on a directory: + + chmod -R 700 mydir -- 2.51.0