A practical guide to managing website files through cPanel's File Manager for Lynx Digital hosting customers. It explains that a site's public files live in the public_html directory, the web root, and how to navigate there. It covers uploading files singly or as a zip that you then extract in place (faster for many files), and downloading or editing files directly. It explains file and folder permissions using the standard numeric model, noting the safe defaults of 644 for files and 755 for folders and warning against 777. It also covers directory indexing, the setting that decides whether visitors can see a list of a folder's contents when no index file is present, and why disabling indexing is usually the safer choice. The guidance stresses caution when editing files in the web root and that Lynx support or managed hosting can handle file-level work safely.
Your website’s files live on the server, and File Manager is the built-in way to work with them without needing separate software. Open it from the Files section of cPanel.
Where your site lives
Public website files sit in the public_html directory, the web root. Anything you want visible on your site goes here (or in a folder inside it). Files outside public_html are not served to the web.
Uploading and extracting
- To add files, open the destination folder, click Upload, and select them.
- For many files at once, upload a single .zip and then Extract it in place. That is much faster than uploading files one by one.
- You can also compress a folder into a zip (handy before downloading a backup of a directory).
File permissions
Permissions control who can read, write, or run a file, using a three-digit number. Safe defaults:
- Files: 644
- Folders: 755
Avoid 777 (fully open), it is a common security risk. Change permissions by selecting a file and choosing Permissions.
Directory indexing
If a folder has no index file, indexing decides whether visitors see a list of its contents. Leaving that exposed can reveal files you would rather keep private. Under the Files section, use Indexes (or Directory Privacy) to turn indexing off for folders that should not be browsable.
Need a hand?
Editing files in the web root is one of the easier ways to break a site. If you are unsure, ask us, or let managed hosting handle file-level changes safely.
- File Manager
- public_html Web Root
- Uploading & Extracting
- File Permissions
- Directory Indexing
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