rights - Linux file permissions explainer

A simple script to explain Linux file permissions in human-readable format

rights takes file permissions in various formats (numeric, symbolic, or actual file path) and explains what they mean - who can read, write, execute, and what special bits are set

Usage

What is it : Linux file permissions explainer
Usage      : rights [-hq] ARGUMENTS

Flags:
  -h  Show this help message
  -q  Show only symbolic and numeric permissions
      without explanation, without file type and suffix

Arguments:
  Symbolic permissions  rwxr-xr-x, rw-------, r-x--x--x
  Numeric permissions   755, 644, 777, 600, 444
  File/directory path   /dev/video0, script.sh, /tmp

Examples:
  rights 755            Explain numeric permissions
  rights rwxr-xr-x      Explain symbolic permissions
  rights /dev/video0    Explain file permissions

Examples

Explain numeric permissions

~
[serr@lap]-> rights 505
File type:           not specified
Special bits:        no SUID, no SGID, no sticky
Owner permissions:   read (+4), no write, execute (+1)
Group permissions:   no read, no write, no execute
Others permissions:  read (+4), no write, execute (+1)
Suffix:              not specified
Symbolic:            r-x---r-x
Numeric:             505

~
[serr@lap]-> rights 5557
File type:           not specified
Special bits:        SUID (+4), no SGID, sticky (+1)
Owner permissions:   read (+4), no write, execute (+1) with SUID (run as file owner)
Group permissions:   read (+4), no write, execute (+1)
Others permissions:  read (+4), write (+2), execute (+1) with sticky (for directories: only file owner or root can delete files)
Suffix:              not specified
Symbolic:            r-sr-xrwt
Numeric:             5557

Explain symbolic permissions

~
[serr@lap]-> rights rwsr-sr-t
File type:           not specified
Special bits:        SUID (+4), SGID (+2), sticky (+1)
Owner permissions:   read (+4), write (+2), execute (+1) with SUID (run as file owner)
Group permissions:   read (+4), no write, execute (+1) with SGID (run as group member)
Others permissions:  read (+4), no write, execute (+1) with sticky (for directories: only file owner or root can delete files)
Suffix:              not specified
Symbolic:            rwsr-sr-t
Numeric:             7755

~
[serr@lap]-> rights crw-rw----+
File type:           character device
Special bits:        no SUID, no SGID, no sticky
Owner permissions:   read (+4), write (+2), no execute
Group permissions:   read (+4), write (+2), no execute
Others permissions:  no read, no write, no execute
Suffix:              ACL present (Access Control Lists)
Symbolic:            crw-rw----+
Numeric:             660

Explain file permissions

~
[serr@lap]-> rights /
File type:           directory
Special bits:        no SUID, no SGID, no sticky
Owner permissions:   read (+4), write (+2), execute (+1)
Group permissions:   read (+4), no write, execute (+1)
Others permissions:  read (+4), no write, execute (+1)
Suffix:              not specified
Symbolic:            drwxr-xr-x
Numeric:             755

~
[serr@lap]-> rights /dev/video0
File type:           character device
Special bits:        no SUID, no SGID, no sticky
Owner permissions:   read (+4), write (+2), no execute
Group permissions:   read (+4), write (+2), no execute
Others permissions:  no read, no write, no execute
Suffix:              ACL present (Access Control Lists)
Symbolic:            crw-rw----+
Numeric:             660

Quiet mode

~
[serr@lap]-> rights -q 755 r-x--x--x /tmp
rwxr-xr-x 755
r-x--x--x 511
rwxrwxrwt 1777

Installation

Just download somewhere

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/laserattack/rights/refs/heads/master/rights

Make it executable

chmod +x rights

And use

./rights

Optionally, you can add the script to your PATH

Requirements

• Perl 5.10 or newer
• ls program (optional for most modes, required for file/directory arguments)