About umask

umask command will be used for setting the default file creation permissions.

When a file is created, its permissions are set by default depending on the umask setting. This value is usually set for all users in /etc/profile and can be obtained by typing:

# umask

The default umask value is usually 022. It is an octal number which indicates what rights will be removed by default to all new files. For instance, 022 indicates that write permissions will not be given to group and other.

By default, and with a umask of 000, files get mode 666 and directories get mode 777. As a result, with a default umask value of 022, newly created files get a default mode 644 (666 - 022 = 644) and directories get a default mode 755 (777 - 022 = 755).

In order to change the umask value, simply use the umask command and give it an octal number. For instance, if you want all new directories to get permissions rwxr-xr--- and files to get permissions rw-r----- by default (modes 750 and 640), you'll need to use a umask value which removes all rights to other, and write permissions to the group : 027. The command to use is:

# umask 027