How to change file permissions in cPanel

What are file permissions?

Permissions are rules on each file and folder. They say who may do what. Think of a school locker. Some people can look inside. Fewer can change things.

There are three actions:

• Read: look at the file.
• Write: change the file.
• Execute: run the file as a program.

There are three groups of people: the owner (you), the group, and world (everyone else).

What do the numbers mean?

Each action has a number. Read is 4. Write is 2. Execute is 1. Add them up for each group.

A permission like 644 has three digits. They are for owner, group and world. So 644 means the owner can read and write. Everyone else can only read.

Common safe values

• Files: 644
• Folders: 755
• Secret config files: 600 or 640, if the app allows it

Warning: Never use 777. It lets anyone write to the file. It is a common cause of hacked sites. Many servers will also show an error for it.

Steps

1. Log in to cPanel.

   

2. Click File Manager.

   

3. Go to the file or folder you want to change.
4. Right-click it and choose Change Permissions. You can also select it and click Permissions in the top bar.

   

5. Tick the boxes for Read, Write and Execute for each group. The number at the bottom updates by itself. You can also type the number.
6. Click Change Permissions.
7. Check your website still works.

   

If your site shows an error after a change

1. Put the old value back.
2. For a "403 Forbidden" error, set folders to 755 and files to 644.
3. If it still fails, send a ticket to Hostvento support at https://secure.hostvento.com/submitticket.php.

Quick recap

• Permissions say who can read, write or run a file.
• Use 644 for files and 755 for folders.
• Avoid 777.
• Change them with right-click, then Change Permissions, in File Manager.