How to Use cPanel File Manager

The File Manager in cPanel gives you full access to your website's files through the browser, so you don't need a separate FTP application. You can upload, download, rename, move, copy, compress and delete files.

How to open File Manager

1. Log into cPanel.
2. In the Files section, click File Manager.
3. If asked, choose your document root (usually public_html) and click Go. The file list opens.

How to upload files

1. Open the folder you want to upload into (usually public_html).
2. Click Upload in the toolbar.
3. Click Select File or drag files into the upload box.
4. Wait for the upload to finish, then click Back to return to the file list.

Need to push a large batch of files (like an existing WordPress site)? A ZIP upload is far faster. See How to Upload Large Websites.

How to create a folder

1. Open where you want the folder.
2. Click + Folder in the toolbar.
3. Enter a name (use lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens or underscores) and click Create New Folder.

How to extract a ZIP file

1. Upload the .zip file into the folder where it should unpack.
2. Right-click the ZIP file and choose Extract.
3. Confirm the destination path and click Extract File(s).

Move, rename and delete files

• Move: right-click a file → Move, then enter the destination path.
• Rename: right-click → Rename, type the new name.
• Delete: right-click → Delete. cPanel will confirm before removing anything.

Editing files

Right-click a text file (like .htaccess or a PHP file) and choose Edit to open cPanel's built-in text editor. Be careful editing files you don't understand — a small typo can take a site offline.

Where should files go?

Website files for your main domain go in public_html. Subdomains and addon domains have their own folders. See What Is public_html? for the full story.