chmod 700 explained (rwx------)

chmod 700 sets the permissions to rwx------.

• Owner: read, write, execute
• Group: no access
• Others: no access

When to use it

Private directories such as ~/.ssh, and scripts only the owner should run.

Security note

Even root-less tools running as another user cannot enter it, so check which user your service runs as.

Tip: applying it to files and directories separately

Directories need the execute bit to be entered, files usually do not. Set them separately: find dir -type d -exec chmod 755 {} + and find dir -type f -exec chmod 644 {} +.

Other common modes