Sentry Answers>Linux>

Apply permissions to a directory and its contents in Linux

Apply permissions to a directory and its contents in Linux

David Y.

The ProblemJump To Solution

How do I apply permissions to a directory and all its contents in Linux? For example, I would like to give all permissions (chmod 777) to the directory /var/www/myapp.

The Solution

We can do this by providing the -R/--recursive flag to our chmod command:

Click to Copy
chmod -R 777 /var/www/myapp

Note that 777 permissions will allow any user on the system to read, write and execute all files and directories within /var/www/myapp. A slightly safer configuration, which should still work for most web applications, is 755, which allows all users to read and execute the files and directories, but only the owner to write to them.

Click to Copy
chmod -R 755 /var/www/myapp

To learn more about chmod, type man chmod into your terminal.

  • ResourcesWhat is Distributed Tracing
  • Syntax.fm logo
    Listen to the Syntax Podcast

    Tasty Treats for Web Developers brought to you by Sentry. Web development tips and tricks hosted by Wes Bos and Scott Tolinski

    Listen to Syntax

Loved by over 4 million developers and more than 90,000 organizations worldwide, Sentry provides code-level observability to many of the world’s best-known companies like Disney, Peloton, Cloudflare, Eventbrite, Slack, Supercell, and Rockstar Games. Each month we process billions of exceptions from the most popular products on the internet.

© 2024 • Sentry is a registered Trademark
of Functional Software, Inc.