rwx – TUI file permissions and ownership manager

rwx is an interactive terminal application for inspecting and modifying Unix file permissions and ownership.

It presents permission data in a more approachable form than working directly with chmod, chown, and related commands. Users can navigate the filesystem, select a file or directory, and then edit its mode and ownership from a dedicated interface.

The program retains the underlying Unix permission model rather than hiding it. This makes it useful both for administrators who already understand symbolic and octal permissions and for users who benefit from seeing those permissions represented visually before applying a change.

This is free and open source software.

Key Features

• Includes an interactive file browser for navigating directories and selecting targets.
• Displays read, write, and execute permissions for owner, group, and others in a grid.
• Lets users toggle individual permission bits interactively.
• Accepts direct octal permission input with validation.
• Supports SetUID, SetGID, and Sticky bits.
• Changes file and directory ownership using user and group values.
• Validates user and group entries before changes are applied.
• Shows a live symbolic permission preview while editing.
• Can apply permission and ownership changes recursively through directory trees.
• Handles symbolic links during recursive operations.
• Collects traversal errors rather than stopping at the first failed item.
• Can open a specific file or directory directly from the command line.
• Keeps edits pending until the user explicitly applies them.
• Restores terminal state through a custom panic hook if an unexpected error occurs.

Website: github.com/vncsmnl/rwx
Support:
Developer: Vinícius Manoel
License: MIT License

rwx is written in Rust. Learn Rust with our recommended free books and free tutorials.