chmod 777

What chmod 777 means

777 (rwxrwxrwx) gives every user on the system full control: anyone can modify the file or add and delete files in the directory. It's often suggested as a quick fix for "permission denied" errors, but it hides the real problem (wrong owner or group) and opens a serious security hole, especially on shared hosting or servers running web applications.

Instead, give ownership to the user that needs to write (chown www-data:www-data dir) and use 755/775 for directories and 644/664 for files. For shared scratch directories, use 1777, which adds the sticky bit so people can only delete their own files.

Adjust the checkboxes above to see how a different mode compares, or go back to the chmod calculator.

Other common values

• 644 — Standard file
• 755 — Directories and programs
• 600 — Private file
• 700 — Private directory
• 400 — Read-only, owner only
• 775 — Shared team directory
• 664 — Group-editable file
• 2775 — Shared directory with setgid
• 1777 — Shared temp directory (sticky)