1) SSH to your server
2) use #cd to go to the directory of the file or folder you wish to change permissions on or find it's full file path
3) Change permissions with the following command:
#cd /file/path/here
#chmod XXX filename-here
OR
#chmod XXX /full/file/path/filename-here
XXX will be the permissions you grant to this file/folder. Each of the X's is replaced by a number that provides permissions for different levels of access to the server and its contents. The first X is for the owner, the second X is for group and third is for users/other. Use the following template to detemine what number to use for your file or folder.
- Permission to read, r, is given the numeric value of 4
- Permission to write, w, is given the value 2
- Permission to execute, x, is given the value 1
Add together the numbers for all the permissions you wish to grant that file or folder. For example, if you wish for a file to have read (4) and write (2) you would use the number 6. The command for this example would look like this:
#chmod 644 /full/file/path/testfile.html
- Typical file permissions for files are 644 (owner can read/write, group can read, users can read)
- Typical file permissions for folders are 755 (owner can read/write/execute, group can read/execute, users can read/execute)
Advanced chmod usage:
You can apply chmod to multiple files or folders within a single command. Be certain to double check the files or folders this command will apply to before using it to ensure you will not alter a file folder that needs unique privileges.
To recursively change permissions on folders use the following command:
#find /full/file/path/foldername-here -type d -exec chmod XXX {} +
This will alter the permissions to the folder located in the directory you specify (foldername-here) as well as any others in subsequent folders.
To recursively change permissions on files use the following command:
#find /full/file/path/foldername-where-files-are-located -type f -exec chmod XXX {} +
This will alter all files located in the folder you specify (foldername-where-files-are-located) as well as any files in subsequent directories.