Reading Permissions

Every file on Linux has permissions that control who can read, write, or execute it. Run ls -l and look at the first column:

ls -l

-rwxr-xr-- 1 student crew  4096 Jan 10 08:00 launch.sh
-rw-r--r-- 1 student crew  2048 Jan 10 08:00 config.txt
drwxr-x--- 2 student crew  4096 Jan 10 08:00 logs

The permission string has 10 characters. The first is the type (- = file, d = directory). The remaining 9 split into three groups of three:

A dash (-) means that permission is not granted.

What do r, w, x mean?

• r (read): view the file's contents.
• w (write): modify or delete the file.
• x (execute): run the file as a program/script.

For directories: r = list contents, w = add/remove files, x = enter (cd).

Mission: Security Audit

The station commander has ordered a permissions audit on your workstation and wants a written record filed away.

1. Display the full permission details for every file in your home directory.
2. Save that detailed listing into a new file called audit.txt.
3. Create a folder called audit-report and move audit.txt into it.
4. Count how many lines the saved audit contains.

Expected result

audit-report/audit.txt holds the permission listing for every file in your home directory.