On IU's research systems, how can I let a consultant see my code?

For a consultant at Indiana University to help you with your code on one of the research systems, you may need to open up your directories and files to enable the consultant to read your source and data files. The top-level directories are enabled with world read and execute permissions on IU's research computing systems, but your personal home directories are private; consultants or any other normal user would not be able to view their contents.

Suppose all your files (file1, file2) are in one directory called my_project within your home directory. For a consultant to be able to do cd my_project and look at file1 and file2, he or she should have at least execute permission at each level of these directories. In addition, the consultant should also have read permission on my_project, file1, and file2. In order to grant these permissions, you need to use the chmod command.

You can, if you prefer, set permissions at a finer level of granularity. For example, the following statements will allow all users, including consultants, to change into your home directory and then into the my_project directory. Also it will allow them to read the following files: file1, file2, and the entire content of subdir1 directory.

Note: Home directories on IU's research systems are located on their own file server. Users of Big Red, Libra, or Quarry should also enter the command:

If you prefer to make all of your files and directories (i.e., those under your home directory) viewable by others, you only need to enter the following command at the prompt:

Note: The following command is only for users of IU's Libra and RDC systems:

Warning: UITS does not recommend allowing world write permission to any file or directory.

This document was developed with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. 0503697 to the University of Chicago and subcontracted to Indiana University. Additional support was provided by IU through its participation in the TeraGrid, which is supported by the NSF under Grants No. 0833618, SCI451237, SCI535258, and SCI504075. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.

Also see:

• In Unix, how do I change the permissions for a file?
• In Unix, how do I set the default protection to newly created directories and files?
• Introduction to Unix commands