chmod 600
chmod 600 is rw-------.
What 600 grants
| Who | Digit | Permissions | Adds up as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | 6 | read, write | 4 + 2 = 6 |
| Group | 0 | no access | 0 |
| Others | 0 | no access | 0 |
When 600 is the right answer
Read and write for the owner only. The correct setting for private keys, token files, .env files and anything else holding a secret that the owning process needs to update.
The command
chmod 600 filename
chmod -R 600 directory/Note that nobody has the execute bit here, so this value cannot be used on a directory that anyone needs to enter. On a directory, execute grants traversal rather than the right to run something.
How it is written elsewhere
| Octal | 600 |
| Symbolic | rw------- |
As a file in ls -l | -rw------- |
As a directory in ls -l | drw------- |
| Binary | 110 000 000 |
| World-writable | No |
Frequently asked questions
What does chmod 600 mean?
It sets owner to read, write, group to no access, others to no access. In symbolic notation that is rw-------.
How do I apply 600?
Run chmod 600 filename. Add -R to apply it to a directory and everything inside, though be careful: a recursive numeric chmod marks every file the same way, which is rarely correct for a mixed tree of files and directories.
Is 600 safe?
It grants no write access outside the owner, so it is a reasonable setting as long as the owner is the account you intend.
What is 600 in symbolic notation?
rw-------. Written as ls -l shows it, with a leading file-type character, an ordinary file would appear as -rw------- and a directory as drw-------.