Linux change group permission to match owner permissions

Dave L. picture Dave L. · Sep 16, 2010 · Viewed 8k times · Source

Suppose I have a directory on Linux with a bunch of files and subdirectories. This is that root directory:

drwxr-xr-x  13 user1 group1    4096 May  7 15:58 apps

Now, I only want to alter the group portion of those permissions. I want to alter it in such a way that it exactly matches the owner portion. The result for that directory would be:

drwxrwxr-x  13 user1 group1    4096 May  7 15:58 apps

But, I want a script or command to do this automatically, not just for that directory but for every subdirectory and file recursively under it. Anyone know how?

Thanks.

Answer

Dennis Williamson picture Dennis Williamson · Sep 16, 2010

Give this a try (test it first):

chmod -R g=u apps

The = copies the permissions when you specify a field (u, g or o) on the right side or sets it absolutely when you specify a permission (r, w or x) on the right.