How to Give All Permissions in Ubuntu

Ubuntu, like other Linux distributions, restricts access to files and system settings by default. Each user account has read and write access to its own files and read access to some system files. Other user accounts can’t view another user account’s files. You can give file or folder permissions to all users using the “chmod” command.

The first user account you create when you install Ubuntu has administrative access, which allows you to enter your password and use system programs. You can grant administrative permissions to other user accounts from the User Accounts window. Keep reading to learn how to change folder and file permissions in Linux with examples as well as change account levels.

File and Folder Permission in Ubuntu

Whether you want to change permissions for a single file or a folder and everything inside it using the command line, you should first open a terminal window by clicking the "Activities" option at the top left corner of the screen, typing “Terminal” into the search box that appears and pressing “Enter.” You'll use your root permissions at the command line by preceding a command with “sudo”.

Type “sudo chmod a+rwx /path/to/file” into the terminal, replacing “/path/to/file” with the file you want to give permissions to everyone for, and press “Enter.” You can also use the command “sudo chmod -R a+rwx /path/to/folder” to give permissions to the selected folder and its files. The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research warns you should omit the “x” from either command if you don’t want the files to be executable. You'll need to enter your password to proceed with the changes since Ubuntu requires this to use elevated permissions.

If you'd rather not use Terminal, you can also change the file or folder permissions in Ubuntu from the file manager window by right-clicking it, selecting “Properties” and clicking the “Permissions” tab in the properties window that appears. However, you can only use this window to change a file’s permissions if your user account owns the file.

Giving Users Administrative Access

If you want to change a whole user's permissions rather than give permission to a folder in Linux, you should log in to the Ubuntu desktop as a user with administrative permissions. Ubuntu says you can then click the "Activities" button and search for "Users." Select the "Users" option when it appears and then proceed to use the "Unlock" button to unlock the settings using your administrator password

Select the account you want to give permissions to in the list, click the “Account Type” box at the right side of the window and select “Administrator.” If the user is currently logged in, they'll have to log out and log back in to receive the updated permissions.

The new administrative user will be able to use the "sudo" command to change permissions and do other actions. For example, they can use “sudo apt-get update” to download updated information about available software packages.

Warning About Permissions

Be aware that granting permissions to all users is dangerous. You shouldn't grant permissions for system files or folders to all user accounts. The default permissions protect your system.