File Manager in the browser

basic · Last updated 16 July 2026

Plesk has a built-in File Manager — you can upload, edit and set permissions on files right in the browser. For small edits (tweaking the htaccess, fixing a config file) the File Manager is the fastest route. For bigger uploads, use FTPS.

Opening the File Manager

Two ways:

Left navigation → Files → the File Manager opens
Or domain detail page → Files tab

You land in /httpdocs/ — your domain’s document root.

What you see there

File list with name, type, size, date
Toolbar at the top with actions
Path display (breadcrumb)

Folder icons vs. file icons help you navigate.

File actions

Upload

Toolbar → Upload → pick a file
Or drag and drop into the browser window

Limits: depending on your plan, 64 MB (Start) up to 1 GB (Max) per upload (PHP upload_max_filesize, visible in your PHP settings). For bigger files: use FTPS.

Creating / editing files

Right-click → Edit File → the built-in code editor opens

The code editor has:

syntax highlighting for PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, Markdown, etc.
line numbering
find/replace
auto-indent

Handy for tweaking .htaccess, wp-config.php, small HTML edits.

Creating folders

Toolbar → Create Folder

Renaming / moving / deleting files

Right-click on the file → the corresponding action

Selecting multiple files

Click + Shift-click: range
Click + Cmd/Ctrl-click: add individual files
Toolbar → apply an action to the selection

ZIP archives

Select multiple files → Archive → a ZIP is created in the same folder
Existing ZIP/TAR/GZ: right-click → Extract

File permissions

Important for webhosting setups, especially with WordPress plugins that need write access to files.

Right-click a file → Change Permissions:

owner / group / others
read / write / execute

Convention for webhosting:

Directories: 755 (rwxr-xr-x)
Files: 644 (rw-r—r—)
Scripts/cron: 750 (rwxr-x---)

WordPress / Joomla / etc. usually expect 644/755. If plugins need write access: 664/775 for the affected directories.

Browsing / searching

Toolbar → Search → enter a file name.

Or in the file browser: Ctrl+F in the browser tab uses the browser’s find.

In the code editor: Ctrl+F to find, Ctrl+H to find and replace.

Hidden files

By default, the File Manager hides files starting with . (e.g. .htaccess).

Enable them: toolbar → settings icon → Show hidden files.

.htaccess matters a lot for Apache config — we recommend keeping it visible at all times.

When to use the File Manager, when FTPS

The File Manager fits for:

quick edits to a single file
tweaking .htaccess
checking config files
uploading / downloading individual files
managing on the go (FTPS is clumsy on a smartphone)

FTPS is better for:

syncing large batches of files
developing WordPress plugins (syncing from local)
bulk uploads (>1 GB)
deploy scripts / CI/CD

Document root vs. Plesk home directory

The hierarchy that matters:

/var/www/vhosts/deinedomain.de/   ← your Plesk home
├── httpdocs/                      ← document root, this is your website
│   ├── index.html
│   ├── wp-content/
│   └── ...
├── logs/                          ← web server logs
├── error_docs/                    ← custom error pages
└── tmp/                           ← temp files

When someone opens https://deinedomain.de/, the server delivers /httpdocs/index.html (or index.php).

A file at /httpdocs/blog/index.html → reachable as https://deinedomain.de/blog/.

Read-only areas

Some directories are system-managed:

/.well-known/ (for Let’s Encrypt)
/error_docs/ (Plesk error pages)
/cgi-bin/ (Plesk system)

You can see them, but they shouldn’t be modified.

Frequently asked questions

Upload keeps aborting — what now? Check PHP upload_max_filesize and post_max_size (in the PHP settings). Presets are 64 MB (Start) up to 1 GB (Max) depending on plan. For bigger files: FTPS, or upload a ZIP and extract it server-side.

File encoding problems after editing (e.g. broken umlauts)? The code editor saves UTF-8. If the original was something else (Latin-1), things can break. Fix: open the file in a local IDE, set the encoding, re-upload.

Permissions are wrong — can I reset Plesk’s defaults? Select the files → Change Permissions → choose the default. Works recursively too.

I accidentally deleted .htaccess — how do I get it back? From a backup. The Plesk daily backup goes 7 days back. More in Creating backups and restoring.

The code editor is slow with big files. Files >10 MB make the editor sluggish. Better: edit locally in an IDE, then upload.

Can I see multiple domains in the same File Manager? Yes. When you click File Manager (top left), you see a domain selector — switch there. Or go directly from the respective domain detail page.

Creating symlinks — possible? Not directly in the File Manager. Via SSH yes, with ln -s — SSH is included in every plan.

What if I accidentally overwrite index.html? Backup restore. The Plesk backup manager is your friend.