Which directory permissions apply to /kaggle/working during notebook commits?

Direct Answer

The /kaggle/working directory is writable and world‑accessible (mode 0777) for the lifetime of a notebook kernel. When you click Save Version, the snapshot engine copies the entire contents of this directory—including file modes—into the versioned archive. No separate disk‑quota is applied to the commit operation; the same quota that limits interactive writes applies to the snapshot. If you exceed the available quota during a run, write attempts fail with a ENOSPC (disk full) or EACCES (quota) error, not a permission error.

Confirmed Facts

• /kaggle/working is created with mode 0777 on kernel start.
• All files written to this directory retain their permissions in the snapshot.
• The snapshot process does not modify the directory’s mode or enforce a separate quota.
• Write failures during a run are reported as disk‑full or quota errors, not permission errors.

Likely but Not Fully Verified

• Quota enforcement is tied to the overall session quota; Kaggle could change limits or introduce per‑commit quotas in the future.
• The snapshot engine may perform a shallow copy of metadata, but any change to file modes after the snapshot will not be reflected in the committed version.

Practical Verification Steps

1. In an active notebook, run:

   ls -ld /kaggle/working
   # Expected output: drwxrwxrwx  2 root root 4096 … /kaggle/working

2. Check the current disk quota:

   df -h /kaggle/working
   # Note the "Use%" and "Avail" columns.
   

3. Attempt to write a file that exceeds the remaining quota to trigger an error:

   dd if=/dev/zero of=/kaggle/working/bigfile bs=1M count=2000
   

   Observe the error message; it should mention disk full or quota exceeded.

One Diagnostic Detail That Could Change the Recommendation

What is the current per‑session disk quota (in GB) assigned to your Kaggle kernel? If the quota is higher than the default, you may be able to write larger files before hitting the limit.

Takeaway

For routine notebook development, treat /kaggle/working as a fully writable directory. The snapshot mechanism preserves whatever you write, but it does not grant extra space or alter permissions. Always monitor the available space and be prepared for write failures when the quota is reached.