How to Read Linux Permissions

This is a short write-up on how to read file permissions in Linux.

$ ls -dl /root       
drwx------ 8 root root 4096 Dec 17 14:06 /root
^ ^  ^  ^  ^  ^     ^    ^   ^   ^    ^     ^--file name
| |  |  |  |  |     |    |   |   |    |--last modified time
| |  |  |  |  |     |    |   |   |--day of month
| |  |  |  |  |     |    |   |--name of month *
| |  |  |  |  |     |    |--size
| |  |  |  |  |     |--group
| |  |  |  |  |--owner
| |  |  |  |--number of hard links to this file
| |  |  |--permission bits for "others" (any user/program)
| |  |--permission bits for group
| |--permission bits for owner
|--file type (d=directory)

ls -dl

Source:

https://askubuntu.com/questions/998462/how-can-i-use-the-ls-command-to-find-out-a-folders-owner-and-group-and-what-ri

https://askubuntu.com/users/527764/zanna

Another great article for Linux permissions:

Linux file permissions explained
Understanding Linux file permissions (how to find them, read them, and change them) is an important part of maintaining and securing your systems.