The simple answer is that chmod -R<\/strong> asks chmod to recursively change all directories and files <\/strong>below. On most systems only upper case -R is used. Lower case -r does nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before diving into the The –<\/strong>R option in Practical Usage of chmod -R<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Take this directory below as an example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see from the image the “others” group has no permissions on the files or subdirectories. In stead of changing all the the files one by one, you can change all of them with a single command:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can see from the next image that the read and write permissions have been added to every file and subdirectory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In some cases it might not be practical to set the permissions the same for every type of file or directory. Say you want to enable the “others” group to read and write files and also execute those that are executable. One way to do this is to copy the permissions from the user or the users group to the others group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This command would accomplish that by copying the group permissions for every file to the others field:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This way the file example\/subdir1\/script1.sh is also executable for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Common Scenarios and Troubleshooting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you made it this far, you should have a thourough understanding of the recursion option in chmod. I hope this article helped you solve whatever problem you were trying to solve. I you want to explore more about chmod, I have a couple more articles about it, explaining different situations like \u201c-rw-r\u2013r\u2013\u201c: Step by Step Explanation<\/a> or drwxrwxrwT: The meaning of the \u201cT\u201d at the end.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you first start using Linux or any other Unix-like system, the commands and the various…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2133,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is chmod?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
-<\/code>R<\/strong> option, it’s essential to grasp the basics of chmod<\/strong>. Chmod stands for Change Mode. This command is used to set or modify the access permissions of files and directories. Permissions dictate who can read, write, or execute a file. Knowing how to use chmod<\/code> effectively ensures that your files are accessible to the right users while being protected from unauthorized access.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat Does -R Stand for?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
chmod<\/code> stands for “recursive”. When applied, chmod -R<\/strong> changes the permissions of the specified directory and all its subdirectories and files. This is particularly useful when you want to apply the same permission settings to an entire directory tree. However, it’s a powerful tool that should be used with caution to avoid unintentionally changing the permissions of critical files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Simple Example of chmod -r<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Image](\"https:\/\/linuxdigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/permission_tree.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nchmod -R o+rw example\/<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/linuxdigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/permission_tree2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCopy Permissions Between Groups of Users<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
chmod -R o=g example\/<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
![\"Directory](\"https:\/\/linuxdigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/permission_tree3.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
chmod -<\/code>R simplifies this process.<\/li>\n\n\n\nchmod -r<\/code> affects everything within the directory tree, so use it judiciously.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n