CHMOD(1) NetBSD Reference Manual CHMOD(1)
NAME
chmod - change file modes
SYNOPSIS
chmod [-R [-H | -L | -P]] [-h] mode file ...
DESCRIPTION
The chmod utility modifies the file mode bits of the listed files as specified by the mode operand. The options are as follows: -H If the -R option is specified, symbolic links on the command line are followed. (Symbolic links encountered in the tree traversal are not followed.) -L If the -R option is specified, all symbolic links are followed. -P If the -R option is specified, no symbolic links are followed. -R Change the modes of the file hierarchies rooted in the files in- stead of just the files themselves. -h If file is symbolic link, the mode of the link is changed. If the option -h is not given, unless the -H or -L option is set, chmod on a symbolic link always succeeds and has no effect. The -H, -L and -P options are ignored unless the -R option is specified. In addition, these options override each other and the command's actions are deter- mined by the last one specified. Only the owner of a file or the super-user is permitted to change the mode of a file.
RETURN VALUES
The chmod utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.
MODES
Modes may be absolute or symbolic. An absolute mode is an octal number constructed by or'ing the following values: 4000 set-user-ID-on-execution 2000 set-group-ID-on-execution 1000 sticky bit, see chmod(2) 0400 read by owner 0200 write by owner 0100 execute (or search for directories) by owner 0070 read, write, execute/search by group 0007 read, write, execute/search by others The read, write, and execute/search values for group and others are en- coded as described for owner. The symbolic mode is described by the following grammar: mode ::= clause [, clause ...] clause ::= [who ...] [action ...] last_action action ::= op [perm ...] last_action ::= op [perm ...] who ::= a | u | g | o op ::= + | - | = perm ::= r | s | t | w | x | X | u | g | o The who symbols ``u'', ``g'', and ``o'' specify the user, group, and oth- er parts of the mode bits, respectively. The who symbol ``a'' is equiva- lent to ``ugo''. The perm symbols represent the portions of the mode bits as follows: r The read bits. s The set-user-ID-on-execution and set-group-ID-on-execution bits. t The sticky bit. w The write bits. x The execute/search bits. X The execute/search bits if the file is a directory or any of the execute/search bits are set in the original (unmodi- fied) mode. Operations with the perm symbol ``X'' are only meaningful in conjunction with the op symbol ``+'', and are ignored in all other cases. u The user permission bits in the mode of the original file. g The group permission bits in the mode of the original file. o The other permission bits in the mode of the original file. The op symbols represent the operation performed, as follows: + If no value is supplied for perm, the ``+'' operation has no ef- fect. If no value is supplied for who, each permission bit speci- fied in perm, for which the corresponding bit in the file mode cre- ation mask is clear, is set. Otherwise, the mode bits represented by the specified who and perm values are set. - If no value is supplied for perm, the ``-'' operation has no ef- fect. If no value is supplied for who, each permission bit speci- fied in perm, for which the corresponding bit in the file mode cre- ation mask is clear, is cleared. Otherwise, the mode bits repre- sented by the specified who and perm values are cleared. = The mode bits specified by the who value are cleared, or, if no who value is specified, the owner, group and other mode bits are cleared. Then, if no value is supplied for who, each permission bit specified in perm, for which the corresponding bit in the file mode creation mask is clear, is set. Otherwise, the mode bits rep- resented by the specified who and perm values are set. Each clause specifies one or more operations to be performed on the mode bits, and each operation is applied to the mode bits in the order speci- fied. Operations upon the other permissions only (specified by the symbol ``o'' by itself), in combination with the perm symbols ``s'' or ``t'', are ig- nored.
EXAMPLES
644 make a file readable by anyone and writable by the owner only. go-w deny write permission to group and others. =rw,+X set the read and write permissions to the usual defaults, but retain any execute permissions that are currently set. +X make a directory or file searchable/executable by everyone if it is already searchable/executable by anyone. 755 u=rwx,go=rx u=rwx,go=u-w make a file readable/executable by everyone and writable by the owner only. go= clear all mode bits for group and others. g=u-w set the group bits equal to the user bits, but clear the group write bit.
BUGS
There's no perm option for the naughty bits.
SEE ALSO
install(1), chmod(2), stat(2), umask(2), fts(3), setmode(3), symlink(7), chown(8)
STANDARDS
The chmod utility is expected to be IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2'') compat- ible with the exception of the perm symbols ``t'' and ``X'' which are not included in that standard. NetBSD 1.5.3 March 31, 1994 3
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