The hosting file manager is a browser-based tool that gives you full access to your hosting account's file system. It handles the most common file tasks — uploading, editing, renaming, deleting, setting permissions, and extracting archives — without needing to install or configure an FTP client. Use FTP or SFTP instead when you need to transfer large numbers of files, work with a team, or integrate with a deployment workflow.
Opening the file manager
Navigate to the HOSTDOG homepage and click the Log in button in the top right corner. From your client area, go to your hosting service and click Login to Control Panel.
In your control panel, locate the Files section and click File Manager. The file manager opens in the same browser tab and shows your full directory tree on the left and the contents of the selected folder on the right.
Your website files live in the public_html folder (also shown as www on some configurations). Click it in the left panel to open it. Use the breadcrumb trail at the top to navigate back up the directory tree at any point.
public_html are not accessible to web visitors — useful for storing configuration files and scripts you do not want to expose publicly.
Uploading files and folders
Navigate to the destination folder first, then click the Upload button in the toolbar. You can select multiple files at once from the upload dialog. The file manager uploads them directly into the current folder.
To upload a folder with its contents intact, compress it into a .zip archive first, upload the archive, then extract it in place (see Extracting archives below). The file manager does not support uploading entire folder trees directly.
Creating, renaming, and deleting
Use the toolbar buttons or right-click any file or folder to access these options:
- New file — creates an empty file in the current folder. Give it a name including the extension (e.g.,
robots.txt,index.html). - New folder — creates a new directory. Folder names should use only letters, numbers, and hyphens — avoid spaces.
- Rename — right-click a file or folder and select Rename, or select it and click the rename icon in the toolbar.
- Delete — select one or more files/folders, then click Delete. Deleted files go to the file manager's Trash; empty the Trash to permanently remove them and free up disk space.
wp-config.php or .htaccess) can take your site offline. If you are unsure about a file, check your application's documentation before making changes.
Editing files directly
You can edit plain text files — .html, .php, .css, .js, .txt, .htaccess, .json, and similar — without downloading them. Right-click the file and select Edit (or Code Editor for syntax highlighting) to open it in the built-in editor. Make your changes and click Save Changes.
wp-config.php or .htaccess, create a copy first: right-click the file, select Copy, and paste it in the same folder with a different name (e.g., .htaccess.bak). This gives you a quick restore point if something goes wrong.
Setting file permissions (chmod)
File permissions control who can read, write, or execute a file on the server. To change them, right-click a file or folder and select Change Permissions (or Chmod).
Permissions are shown as a three-digit number. Common values:
| Permission | Numeric value | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Read + write (owner only) | 600 |
Configuration files with credentials |
| Read + write + execute (owner), read + execute (others) | 644 |
Standard web files (.php, .html, .css) |
| Read + write + execute (owner), read + execute (others) | 755 |
Directories and executable scripts |
777 (read/write/execute for everyone) on a shared hosting environment — it creates a security risk by allowing any process on the server to modify your files.
Extracting archives
The file manager can extract .zip and .tar.gz archives directly on the server — much faster than downloading, extracting locally, and re-uploading. To extract an archive:
- Upload the archive file to the target folder.
- Right-click the archive file and select Extract.
- Confirm or change the destination path in the dialog that appears.
- Click Extract File(s). The contents are extracted into the chosen directory.
Once extraction is complete, you can delete the original archive file to recover the disk space.
Troubleshooting
The file manager requires JavaScript to function. Check that JavaScript is enabled in your browser, and try disabling any ad-blocker or browser extensions that may be blocking scripts. If the problem persists, try a different browser or clear your browser cache.
Large file uploads can time out in the browser. If you are uploading files over a few hundred MB, use FTP/SFTP instead — it handles large transfers more reliably and is not subject to browser upload limits. Also check that you have not exceeded your hosting disk quota.
This usually means the file is owned by a different system user, or its permissions are set too restrictively. Check the file's ownership and permissions. If a file was uploaded by a different process (for example, by a CMS installer), it may be owned by the web server user rather than your hosting account user. Contact support if you cannot change the ownership yourself.
Open the file again in the editor and look for any syntax errors you may have introduced. Common culprits: a missing semicolon in PHP, an unclosed HTML tag, or a stray character in .htaccess. If you made a backup copy before editing (see the tip in the Editing files directly section), restore it by renaming it back to the original filename. HOSTDOG's daily automated backups can also be used to restore a previous version — open a support ticket if you need help with that.