How To Manage Files in cPanel

NOTE. This guide is applicable for hosting products with cPanel (they are Linux Hosting, Business Hosting, Website Builder, eCommerce Builder, WordPress Hosting, and WooCommerce Online Store).

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

No matter how you created your website, all website files will be uploaded, stored, and maintained in the cPanel File Manager. 

 

Access your cPanel File Manager

1. Log in to your cPanel.
2. Scroll down to the Files section and click File Manager.

Once you're in the File Manager, you can do the following actions:

• Change the File Manager settings
• Create files or folders
• Delete files or folders
• Rename files or folders
• Edit files
• Copy files or folders
• Move files or folders
• Upload files
• Download files
• Update files or folders permissions
• Compress files
• Extract a compressed file

 

Change the File Manager settings

To change the default folder to open when you access your File Manager, follow these steps:

1. Click Settings on the upper right part of the File Manager interface. 
2. Select a folder to open by default:
   • Home Directory — The main folder for your account. 
   • Web Root (public_html or www) — The most direct route to your files. 
   • Public FTP Root (public_ftp) — The folder for your FTP files. 
   • Document Root for: — The folder for the domain that you select from the menu (applicable if you have addon domains in your cPanel). 
3. On the same interface, you can also check the Show Hidden Files (dotfiles) option, so you will be able to see files with filenames that start with a dot (e.g., .htaccess, .well-known, .trash).
4. Click Save.

 

Create files or folders

To create files or folders, follow these steps:

1. Open the folder or directory where you want the new file or folder to be created. 
2. Click File or Folder on the File Manager toolbar. 
3. On the next interface, enter the new item's name in the New File Name: or New Folder Name: text box.
    

   IMPORTANT. Just leave the New File will be created in: or New Folder will be created in: text box empty if you've followed step 1. If not, you need to specify the directory name where you want the file or folder to be created. It is spelling and case sensitive, so you need to get the directory name right. 

4. Click Create New File or Create New Folder. 

 

Delete files or folders

To delete files or folders, follow these steps: 

1. Right click on the file or folder you want to delete. 
    

   NOTE. When you delete files or folders, the system does not permanently delete the files. Instead, the system moves the files to the Trash folder. Check Skip the trash and permanently delete the files to permanently delete the file or folders. 

2. Click Confirm. 

 

Rename files or folders

To rename files or folders, follow these steps: 

1. Right click on the file or folder you want to rename. 
2. Select Rename from the options. 
3. Enter a new file or folder name. 
4. Click Rename File. 

 

Edit files

To edit files, follow these steps: 

1. Right click on the file you want to edit. 
2. Click Edit from the options. 
3. Click the Edit button to open the file editor. 
4. Make the changes that you want. 
5. Click Save Changes at the top of the page when you're done. 

 

Copy files or folders

To copy files or folders, follow these steps: 

1. Right click on the file or folder that you want to copy. 
2. Select Copy from the options. 
3. Enter the folder or directory name where you want to place the copied file or folder. 
    

   IMPORTANT. All files inside the folder will also be copied. If you accidentally put an incorrect directory or path name, the system will automatically create a new folder with the directory or path name you've indicated. 

4. Click Copy Files.

 

Move files or folders

To move files or folders, follow these steps: 

1. Right click on the file or folder that you want to move. 
2. Select Move from the options. 
3. Enter the folder or directory name where you want to move the file or folder. 
    

   IMPORTANT. All files and folders inside the folder you want to move will also be moved. If you accidentally put an incorrect directory or path name, the system will automatically create a new folder with the directory or path name you've indicated.

4. Click Move Files. 

You can also move files by dragging a file into a new destination folder. 

 

Upload files

To upload files, follow these steps:

NOTE. You can only upload one file at a time. If you want to upload multiple files, compress them into one file first. 

1. Go to the folder or directory path where you want the files to be uploaded. 
2. Click Upload at the top of the page. 
3. On the next page, click Select File. This opens your computer's file explorer or file finder. 
4. Locate and select the file that you want to upload. 
5. Click Open or the relevant button in your file explorer or file finder to proceed with the upload. 
    

   NOTE. If you want to overwrite the existing files in your cPanel folder, check the Overwrite existing files checkbox.

 

Download files

To download files, follow these steps: 

1. Right click on the file that you want to download. 
    

   NOTE. You can only download one file at a time. If you want to download all the files inside a specific folder, compress them into one file first.

2. Select Download from the options. 

 

Update files or folders permissions

To update files or folder permissions, follow these steps:

IMPORTANT. cPanel will automatically assign a default file or folder permissions depending on the type of file and location you put them. Only do this action if you are an advanced user and know exactly what you are doing. You can read the cPanel blog about file and folder permissions to learn more.

1. Right click on the file or folder you want to modify. 
2. Select Change Permissions from the options. 
3. Use the checkboxes or text boxes to change the item’s permissions. 
4. Click Change Permissions to save the changes. 

 

Compress files

To compress files into one folder, follow these steps: 

1. Right click the folder that contains all the files you want to compress. 
2. Click Compress from the options. 
3. Select a compression type. 
4. Click Compress Files. 

 

Extract a compressed file

To extract a compressed file, follow these steps: 

1. Right click the compressed file. 
2. Select Extract from the options. 
3. Click Extract Files. 

 

To learn more about cPanel File Manager, read the cPanel File Manager documentation.