chmod(C) 19 June 1992 chmod(C) Name chmod - change the access permissions of a file or directory Syntax chmod mode file chmod [ who ] [ +|-|= ] [ permission ... ] file ... Description The chmod command changes the access permissions (or ``mode'') of a specified file or directory. It is used to control file and directory access by users other than the owner and super user. The mode may be an expression composed of letters and operators (called ``symbolic mode''), or a number (called ``absolute mode''). A chmod command using symbolic mode has the form: