How to get octal file permissions on Linux/Unix command line

In Unix/Linux, file permissions are stored in binary form, but can be displayed as octal values using the stat command. Here’s how to display the octal file permissions of a file using the command line:

1. Run the stat command and specify the file path:

    

   stat -c %a <file_path>


   Replace <file_path> with the path to the file whose permissions you want to view.

2. The output will be the octal value representing the file permissions, which can be interpreted as follows:

   • The first digit represents the owner’s permissions.
   • The second digit represents the group’s permissions.
   • The third digit represents the permissions for others.

For example, if the output is 755, the owner has full permissions (7), the group has read and execute permissions (5), and others have read and execute permissions (5).

(midwaymoving.com)