Explanation about files and folders rights

Files and folders have permissions. These can be set via an FTP program, such as FileZilla.

The codes are pretty cryptic if you have not seen them before. Below a short explanation.

Normally, a folder has rwxr-xr-x (755):

drwxr-xr-x 5 abcd1234 abcd1234 4096 Jan 01 12:34 folder

And a file rw-r - r-- (644):

drw-r - r-- 5 abcd1234  abcd1234  4096 Jan 01 12:34 file

What do all these codes mean?

r: read, w: write, x: execute

These codes are stored binary, where r = 4, w = 2, x = 1

rwx is then 7:

r (read, ie reading rights) = 4

w (write, write permission) = 2

x (execute, export rights) = 1

In other words: 4 + 2 + 1 = 7 

In a typical file list you often see something like this:

drwxr-xr-x 5 abcd1234  abcd1234  4096 Jan 01 12:34 folder

So you see 3 blocks of rwx (1) rx (2) rx (3) immediately next to each other

A dash "-" means that this option is not active at the moment.

The letter d means directory (= folder).

The first block of 3 is the owner  of the file

Second block of 3 is the group  (group) of the file

Third block of 3: rx is for the rest (all)

Just like example  rwxr-xr-x

If you add the codes, this is the same as 755.

In this case, the owner has full output, read and write permissions, the group only has output and read rights and the rest can only execute and read.

This is necessary for a normally functioning folder.

Just like example  rw-r - r--

If you add the codes, this is the same as 644.

In this case the owner has read and write rights. This is typical for a file. You only want to be able to update or delete the file as owner. The rest and the group can only read. And that works well for files on a website, which actually need to be read only.

Typical settings

File: 644 - for example a php or png file etc. Please note that PHP files do not need output (x) rights.

Folder: 755

Fully writable folder: 777

Fully writable file: 666 - this is rare

Is it unsafe to put a directory on 777?

777 (or rwxrwxrwx) is a typical setting for a fully writable folder.

This means that everything is writable, and is therefore less secure, but this does not necessarily mean that everyone can adjust it via the web.

In practice you use this as little as possible and often only if it can not be done differently. For example, because you are using a plugin or other script that requires write access to a specific folder.

Adjust via FTP

If necessary, you can adjust the rights via FTP, you can also ask us via support.

In most cases, the function in your FTP program is called something like chmod of permissions . Often you see this option if you right-click on a file on folder.

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