CHMOD Converter | Octal & Symbolic Permission Translator

Stop second-guessing 755 vs. rwxr-xr-x. Convert Linux/Unix file permissions bidirectionally and generate exact commands for your terminal instantly.

💡 What You Can Do

Simplify your workflow whether you're hardening a server or learning the command line.

• Translate outputs: Turn ls -l symbolic strings into numeric codes for config files.
• Generate commands: Build ready-to-use chmod scripts for your deployment.
• Learn the logic: Visualize how individual bits (Read, Write, Execute) combine to form permission digits.

🚀 Key Features

• Live Sync: Edit either the numeric or symbolic field and see the other update in real-time.
• Smart Autocomplete: Enter a partial string like rwx and the tool automatically pads it to rwx------ (700).
• One-Click Copy: Grab the formatted chmod command directly to your clipboard.
• Instant Validation: Prevents syntax errors by blocking invalid octal digits (0-7) or symbolic characters.

🧐 FAQ

What happens if I enter fewer than 9 characters? The tool treats your input as the "Owner" permissions and pads the rest with dashes (-), effectively setting "Group" and "Others" to no permissions.

Does this handle SUID, SGID, or the Sticky Bit? This tool focuses on standard 3-digit permissions (Owner, Group, Public), which cover 99% of common web and development use cases.

Why use 7, 5, or 4? It follows binary logic: Read = 4 (100), Write = 2 (010), and Execute = 1 (001). Adding these values gives you the final digit.

📚 The Octal System at a Glance

Unix permissions use an Octal (base-8) system. Each of the three digits represents a specific role: 1. First Digit: User (Owner) 2. Second Digit: Group 3. Third Digit: Others (Everyone else)

Example: 755 - Owner: 7 (r+w+x) → Full access. - Group: 5 (r+x) → Read and enter, but no editing. - Others: 5 (r+x) → Read and enter, but no editing. This is the standard configuration for public web directories.