# Enable directory listings
Source: https://docs.webgee.com/en/hosting/enable-directory-index-listings-using-htaccess



Make the web server list a directory's contents when it has no index page.
Applies to shared, reseller and Premium hosting.

By default, requesting a directory with no `index.html` or `index.php` returns
**403 Forbidden**. Directory listings are off for a reason.

<Callout type="warn">
  Enabling this exposes **every file in the directory** to anyone who finds the
  URL — including backups, exports, configuration files and anything else you
  assumed nobody knew about.

  Do it for a directory you deliberately intend to be browsable, never for a
  whole site.
</Callout>

## Enable it [#enable-it]

Create or edit `.htaccess` **in the directory you want listed** — not in your
document root — and add:

```apache
Options +Indexes
```

## Better: control what is shown [#better-control-what-is-shown]

Plain `+Indexes` shows filenames only. `+FancyIndexing` adds sizes, dates and
sorting:

```apache
Options +Indexes +FancyIndexing
IndexOptions FancyIndexing HTMLTable NameWidth=*
```

Hide files that should not be listed even when browsing is intended:

```apache
IndexIgnore .htaccess *.php *.sql *.zip *.bak
```

## Disable it for a directory [#disable-it-for-a-directory]

```apache
Options -Indexes
```

Useful for an upload directory inside an otherwise browsable area.

## Check it worked [#check-it-worked]

Visit the directory URL. You should see the listing rather than a 403.

Then check what is actually exposed. Look at the list and ask whether every file
on it is one you would hand to a stranger — this is the point at which people
notice a database dump they forgot about.

## A better approach for downloads [#a-better-approach-for-downloads]

If the goal is offering files for download, an index page listing them
deliberately is safer than exposing the directory. You control what appears, and
adding a file to the directory does not silently publish it.

## Related [#related]

* [Create custom error pages](/en/hosting/how-to-create-custom-error-pages-in-cpanel)
* [File and directory permissions](/en/hosting/what-file-and-directory-permissions-should-i-use-for-my-web-files)