# Use File Manager
Source: https://docs.webgee.com/en/hosting/how-to-manage-files-in-cpanel





Manage your website's files from the browser. Applies to shared, reseller and
Premium hosting.

Open **File Manager** in cPanel under **Files**. It opens in a new browser tab.

<img alt="cPanel File Manager showing the home directory, with the folder tree and permissions column" src="__img0" />

The toolbar across the top holds the actions; the left pane is a folder tree; the
**Permissions** column on the right shows each item's octal mode, which is where
to look when something is not writable.

## Show hidden files first [#show-hidden-files-first]

Files beginning with a dot — `.htaccess` most importantly — are hidden by
default, so File Manager appears not to contain them.

Select **Settings**, top right, and tick &#x2A;*Show Hidden Files (dotfiles)**.

Do this before anything else. Most "the file isn't there" problems are this
setting.

## Finding your way around [#finding-your-way-around]

The left panel is a directory tree; the right shows the contents of whatever you
select. Your website lives in &#x2A;*`public_html`** — see
[Where to upload your website files](/en/getting-started/where-should-i-upload-my-website-files).

## Uploading [#uploading]

**Select → Upload** and choose your files.

<Callout type="info">
  For anything more than a handful of files, **upload a zip and extract it here**.
  Transferring thousands of small files individually — over FTP or through the
  browser — is dramatically slower. A WordPress install is around 2,000 files.

  Upload the archive, right-click it, and choose **Extract**.
</Callout>

## Editing [#editing]

Right-click a file and choose **Edit** for plain editing, or **Code Edit** for
syntax highlighting.

<Callout type="warn">
  Take a copy before editing anything that can break the site — `.htaccess`,
  `wp-config.php`, a theme's `functions.php`. Right-click, **Copy**, and name it
  `.htaccess.bak`. There is no undo, and a mistake in `.htaccess` produces a 500
  error across the whole site.

  Long editing sessions can also be interrupted if your IP changes — see
  [Your IP address has changed](/en/hosting/your-ip-address-has-changed-please-log-in-again-cpanel).
  Use SFTP for substantial work.
</Callout>

## Permissions [#permissions]

Right-click a file and choose **Change Permissions**. Directories should be
`755`, files `644` — see
[File and directory permissions](/en/hosting/what-file-and-directory-permissions-should-i-use-for-my-web-files).

For a whole tree, select the folder and tick **Recurse into subdirectories**,
applying to files and directories separately — they need different values.

## Other useful actions [#other-useful-actions]

* **Compress** a folder before downloading it, or before making risky changes.
* **Search** the current directory and below, useful for locating a file across a
  large site.
* **Disk Usage**, from the same menu, shows what is consuming space — see
  [Check your disk usage](/en/hosting/monitoring-disk-usage-with-cpanel).

## When to use FTP instead [#when-to-use-ftp-instead]

File Manager is fine for quick work. Use SFTP for large uploads, bulk edits, or
anything where losing a session would cost you — see
[Upload files with FileZilla](/en/hosting/using-filezilla-to-upload-files-via-sftp-ssh-or-ftps-ssl-tls).

## Related [#related]

* [Where to upload your website files](/en/getting-started/where-should-i-upload-my-website-files)
* [File and directory permissions](/en/hosting/what-file-and-directory-permissions-should-i-use-for-my-web-files)