[ Mega Script Archive ] [ Frequently Asked Questions ]

What does chmod xxx mean? What is chmod?

  • Short Answer:

    Chmod is a Unix command which changes the security settings for particular files, giving users and groups permission to read, write, and/or execute certain files.

    Long Answer:

    For many of my scripts, the uid (User ID) that the web server is running under must either execute (in the case of the perl scripts) or write or read certain files. There are several different cases in which different chmod commands will be used. For example, any of the perl scripts that must be placed into the cgi bin, must also be executable by the web server. This means you must use:

          chmod 755 filename.pl

    This allows anyone to read and execute your file and it allows you the permission to write to it. Any of the files that are automatically updated by perl scripts, must be writable and readable by all, including the web server uid. Unless you have super user access, this means setting your files to:

         chmod 777 filename.[html|txt]

    This will allow everyone to write to your files. If you are still confused on this matter, you must know that to use chmod you must: 1) Have a unix account, 2) Be able to telnet to that unix account or dial up into the account, and 3) be able to use the shell. If you do not have either of these, you will need to ask your system administrator how you can get around using chmod or what you need to do in order to get it to work.

    Form More Information: If you have a Unix account you can type:

        man chmod

    or else you can get the man (Manual) pages off of the web for chmod.


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