cPanel's File Manager is a tool for viewing, editing, uploading, and downloading hosting files directly from your browser. No need to install or configure an FTP client β this is the easiest way for beginners. Open cPanel, click File Manager, and your site files appear in front of you.
Main features
File browsing and navigation β the tree view on the left lets you move through folders, the right side shows files in the current folder. Operations from the top toolbar.
Upload β click "Upload", then drag-and-drop or "Select File". You can upload multiple files at once with a progress bar.
Create file and folder β "+ File" and "+ Folder" buttons. A new named file or directory is created. After creating a new file, select it and click "Edit" to work inside.
File editing β small HTML, PHP, JS, CSS files can be edited directly in the browser. The code editor has syntax highlighting. For large files FTP is better (download, edit locally, upload back).
Move, copy, delete β select a file and use "Move", "Copy", "Delete" operations. Hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple files at once.
Permissions β right-click a file, "Change Permissions" β 644 (regular files), 755 (scripts and folders), 777 (very rare β full access to all users).
Compression β archive a folder (.zip or .tar.gz) or extract an archive.
Useful tips
Show hidden files β File Manager Settings β enable "Show Hidden Files". .htaccess, .env, and other dotfiles become visible.
Keyboard shortcuts for quick editing: Ctrl+S β save, Ctrl+Z β undo, Ctrl+F β find.
Make a backup β before changing important files, Copy the folder (append a "_backup" suffix). If you make a mistake you can restore the old version.
Sayt.uz practice
Sayt.uz clients use File Manager heavily β 89% of clients use it at least once a month. Most common uses: editing .htaccess, configuring wp-config.php, small CSS/HTML changes. For large changes clients switch to SFTP. Tip: File Manager is convenient, but always back up before changes β a deleted file usually cannot be recovered.