How To Manage Files in cPanel

Organize your files in cPanel using the File Manager.

IMPORTANT
We recommend to back up your website files, before making any changes.

On This Page

• Access the File Manager
• Create Files or Folders
• Delete Files or Folders
• Rename Files or Folders
• Edit Files or Folders
• Copy Files or Folders
• Move Files or Folders
• Upload Files
• Download Files
• Set File Permissions
• Compress a Folder
• Extract a Compressed File

Access the File Manager

1. Log in to your cPanel.
2. Go to the FILES section and click File Manager.

Create Files or Folders

1. Go to your cPanel File Manager.
2. Click File or Folder button at the upper-right corner of the page. In the pop-up box that follows, enter a unique file or folder's name.

   IMPORTANT:
   A file name without extension is considered as a text document. Make sure to add an extension if necessary.

3. Click Create New File or Create New Folder to complete the action.

Delete Files or Folders

1. Go to your cPanel File Manager.
2. Right click the file or folder you want to remove and click Delete.
3. On the Trash pop-up box, click Confirm.

   NOTE
   Deleted files will still be stored in your cPanel Trash Bin. If you want to completely delete the file or folder, check the Skip the trash and permanently delete the files on the Trash pop-up box.

Rename Files or Folders

1. Go to your cPanel File Manager.
2. Right click the file or folder you wish to rename, and select Rename.
3. Enter a new name on the field provided.
4. Click Rename File to save the changes.

Edit Files or Folders

1. Go to your cPanel File Manager.
2. Right click the file or folder you wish to modify, and click Edit.
3. Click Edit on the pop-up window to proceed.
4. Perform the changes that you want on the file selected.
5. Click Save Changes at the top right of the page to save the changes.

Copy Files or Folders

1. Go to your cPanel File Manager.
2. Right click the file or folder you wish to copy, and click Copy.
3. Enter the correct file path on the field provided where you want to create a copy of the file selected.
4. Click Copy Files to complete.

Move Files or Folders

1. Go to your cPanel File Manager.
2. Right click the file or folder you wish to move, and click Move.
3. Enter the correct file path on the field provided where you want the selected file to be moved.
4. Click Move Files to complete.

Upload Files

IMPORTANT
You can only upload files to cPanel. If you are uploading a folder with mutiple files inside, compress them into one file first.

1. Go to your cPanel File Manager.
2. Go to the folder where you want the new files to be uploaded.
3. Click Upload at the top of the page. You will be redirected to a new page.
4. Click Select File and select the file in your computer that you want to upload, then click Open. Alternatively, you can also drag and drop the file from your computer to the cPanel Upload box provided.

Download Files

1. Go to your cPanel File Manager.
2. Right click the file you wish to download, and click Download.

   IMPORTANT
   To download a folder, you need to compress it first to become a single file.

Set File Permissions

Files have access permissions. In such way, the server will know how to handle requests to access files. Access ranges from Read, files are shown to the user; Write, users can modify files, and Execute, users can execute files as programs. Furthermore, users vary from User, the owner; Group, other users on the server; and World, site visitors.

It is important to set file permissions so the server can read web pages and respond to web browser's requests. Here's a simple instruction to do so:

1. Go to your cPanel File Manager.
2. Right click the file or folder you want to modify, and click Change Permissions.
3. Tick the appropriate box on every user group to set permission. The permission number will follow accordingly as you check the box.

   IMPORTANT:
   Unless a specific script needs special permissions, files should be set to 644 permission while folders are set to 755.

4. Click Change Permissions button to save the changes.

Compress a Folder

1. Go to your cPanel File Manager.
2. Right click the folder you want to compress or zip and click Compress.
3. Select the preferred compression type.
4. Click Compress Files to proceed.

Extract a Compressed File

1. Go to your cPanel File Manager.
2. Right click the zip file you want to unzip and click Extract.
3. Click Extract Files to proceed.