How to Use File Manager in cPanel

File Manager is cPanel’s built-in tool for working with your website’s files in a web browser. It’s handy for small jobs: uploading a file, fixing a setting or unzipping a site. Your main domain’s files live in the public_html folder.

Open File Manager

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Click Files in the sidebar and open the File Manager tab. (If you see a File Manager icon instead, click it.) You can also type File Manager in cPanel’s search box (Ctrl+K or Cmd+K).
3. Open the public_html folder.

If you can’t log in to cPanel or can’t find File Manager, open a support ticket.

Show hidden files

Some important files, such as .htaccess, start with a dot. These “dotfiles” are hidden at first.

1. Click the More (⋯) button in the toolbar.
2. In the Display section, select Show hidden files.

If you see a Settings button instead, click it, select Show Hidden Files (dotfiles) and click Save.

Upload files

1. Open the folder you want to upload into.
2. Click Upload in the toolbar and choose the files on your computer. Select Overwrite existing files only to replace files with the same name.
3. When the upload finishes, reload the page if the new files don’t show.

Edit a file

1. Select the file and click Download in the toolbar to save a copy on your computer.
2. With the file still selected, open the More (⋯) menu and choose Edit.
3. If the file looks like strange symbols, close it without saving and open a support ticket.
4. Make your change and save it with the editor’s save button.
5. Reload your site to check it still works.

If a file is too large to open in the editor, download it and edit them on your computer in a plain-text editor, such as Notepad on Windows or TextEdit set to plain text on a Mac. Don’t use Word. If you’re not sure how to put the file back, open a support ticket.

Rename or delete

To rename, select the item, open the More (⋯) menu, choose Rename and type the new name.

To delete, select the item, click Delete and confirm.

Extract or compress

An archive is one file, such as a .zip, that holds many files.

1. Select the archive (such as a .zip file) and click Extract.
2. Check the folder it will extract into, then start the extraction.
3. Once you’ve checked the extracted files, delete the archive from the server (keep your own copy) so it can’t be downloaded from your site.

To download a whole folder, turn it into an archive first:

1. Select the folder and click Compress.
2. Choose ZIP, then start the compression.
3. Select the new .zip file and click Download.
4. When the download has finished, delete the .zip from the server.

Change permissions

Permissions control who can read, change or run a file.

1. Select the file or folder and click Permissions.
2. Type 644 for a file or 755 for a folder, or check the matching boxes. If cPanel shows 0644 or 0755, that’s the same setting.
3. Save the change.

How to tell it worked

After any change, reload File Manager and check the file list for the new names, files or permissions. Then open your site in a private window (Chrome calls it Incognito) to see the live site, not a saved copy.

Troubleshooting

• You can’t see .htaccess: turn on Show hidden files under the More (⋯) button.
• The upload fails or stops: the file may be too big for a browser upload, or your disk may be full. To check your space, click Files in the sidebar and open the Disk Usage tab. Then try smaller zip files, or open a support ticket.
• Your site shows a 500 error after an edit: open your downloaded copy on your computer and copy all of its text. Open the file again with Edit (in the More menu), replace everything with your copy, and save. If that doesn’t fix it, see how to fix 403 and 500 errors or open a support ticket.
• You can’t extract a file: select a single archive file, such as a .zip.

Still need help?

Open a support ticket from the Client Portal at my.bluearctic.com (see our support page). Include your domain, the full path of the file or folder, the exact error text, a screenshot and what you already tried. Never include your password.