What does chmod 755 mean?

chmod 755 gives the owner read, write, and execute permissions (7 = 4+2+1), while the group and others get read and execute permissions only (5 = 4+1). It is the standard permission for directories and executable scripts.

What is the difference between chmod 644 and 755?

chmod 644 gives the owner read and write access (6 = 4+2), while group and others can only read (4). This is correct for regular files like PHP scripts and HTML files. chmod 755 adds execute permission for everyone, which is needed for directories and executable programs.

Why should I never use chmod 777?

chmod 777 gives everyone (owner, group, and others) full read, write, and execute permissions. This means any process running on the server can modify your files, which is a serious security risk. It is especially dangerous on shared hosting where other users share the same server.

What chmod does Laravel need?

Laravel requires chmod 755 on most directories and chmod 644 on most files. The storage/ and bootstrap/cache/ directories need chmod 775 so the web server (www-data) can write to them. Never set 777 on any Laravel directory.

chmod Calculator

Click permissions or type an octal number. Get the symbolic notation and the exact chmod command — instantly.

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chmod command

⚠ Never use 777 in production. It grants full write access to every process on the server — a critical security risk on shared hosting.

How the numbers add up

r Read +4

Can view file contents or list directory

w Write +2

Can modify file or create/delete inside directory

x Execute +1

Can run file as program, or enter directory

Each digit in the octal number = sum of the checked permissions for that group. 7 = 4+2+1 (all three). 6 = 4+2 (read + write). 5 = 4+1 (read + execute).

Pro tips

What shared hosting tutorials skip over.

📁 Directories need execute to be entered

The execute bit on a directory doesn't mean "run" — it means "enter". Without it, even if read is set, you can't cd into it or access files inside. That's why directories are typically 755 and files 644.

🔑 SSH keys must be 400 or 600

~/.ssh/id_rsa must not be readable by others. OpenSSH will refuse to use a private key with permissions looser than 600. Use 400 (read-only by owner) for the tightest security.

🌀 Laravel: 755 everywhere except storage

Most Laravel files should be 644 (files) and 755 (directories). Only storage/ and bootstrap/cache/ need 775 so the www-data user can write logs and compiled views.

👤 www-data vs your deploy user

On Ubuntu, Nginx/Apache run as www-data. If your files are owned by a deploy user, add that user to the www-data group and use 775 on writable directories — safer than changing ownership to www-data entirely.

🔄 Use chmod -R with care

chmod -R 755 . sets 755 on everything — including files that should be 644. Better to run two commands: find . -type d -exec chmod 755 {} + and find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} +.

🧪 Check current permissions with ls -la

Before changing anything, run ls -la to see current permissions in symbolic form. The string drwxr-xr-x = directory (d) + owner rwx + group r-x + others r-x = 755.

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