Manage files with FTP and File Manager

cPanel File Manager

File Manager is the fastest way to manage files without additional software.

Access

1. Log in to cPanel
2. Go to Files → File Manager
3. The web explorer opens with your home directory

Common operations

• Upload files: Click Upload (limit depends on server configuration)
• Create files/folders: Use +File and +Folder buttons
• Edit files: Right-click → Edit (built-in code editor)
• Compress/Extract: Select files → Compress or right-click .zip → Extract
• Permissions: Right-click → Change Permissions

Show hidden files

To see files like .htaccess:

1. Click Settings (top right corner)
2. Check Show Hidden Files (dotfiles)

Create FTP accounts

1. In cPanel → Files → FTP Accounts
2. Fill in:

• Login: username
• Password: strong password
• Directory: folder they will have access to (e.g. public_html/client)
• Quota: space limit (or unlimited)

1. Click Create FTP Account

Configure FileZilla

1. Download FileZilla from filezilla-project.org
2. Open the Site Manager (Ctrl+S)
3. Click New Site and fill in:

Protocol: FTP - File Transfer Protocol
Host: yourdomain.com (or server IP)
Port: 21
Encryption: Use explicit FTP over TLS
Logon Type: Normal
User: user@yourdomain.com
Password: your_password

1. Click Connect

Use SFTP (more secure)

SFTP uses SSH to transfer files in an encrypted way:

Protocol: SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol
Host: yourdomain.com
Port: 22 (or configured SSH port)
Logon Type: Normal
User: cpanel_username
Password: cpanel_password

Note: SFTP requires SSH access enabled on your account.

File permissions (chmod)

Permissions control who can read, write and execute files:

Change permissions

# Via SSH
chmod 644 file.php
chmod 755 folder/
chmod -R 644 public_html/*.html

# Recommended permissions for WordPress
find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
find . -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
chmod 600 wp-config.php

Upload limits

If you need to upload large files:

1. File Manager: Limit of ~500 MB per file
2. FTP: No practical limit (recommended for large files)
3. PHP upload: Configure in php.ini:

upload_max_filesize = 256M
post_max_size = 256M

Recommendations

• Use SFTP instead of FTP whenever possible
• Never set permissions to 777 on files or folders
• Create separate FTP accounts for each developer or client
• Make a backup before modifying system files
• Use File Manager's editor for quick configuration changes