File Manager is cPanel's built-in tool for browsing, editing, and uploading the actual files that make up your website — useful for quick fixes when setting up a separate FTP client feels like overkill.
Opening File Manager
Log in to cPanel and click File Manager in the Files section. It opens directly in your browser, starting at your account's root directory.
Finding your website files
Your live website files almost always live inside the public_html folder — double-click to open it, and you'll see the same structure WordPress or any other site software uses.
Uploading files
Click Upload in the toolbar, then drag files in or select them from your computer — useful for adding a single image or document without setting up FTP for a one-off task.
Uploading many files at once
For a large number of files, it's faster to zip them into a single archive on your computer, upload that one zip file, then right-click it in File Manager and choose Extract — much quicker than uploading hundreds of individual files one at a time.
Editing files directly
Right-click any text-based file (like wp-config.php or a theme's style.css) and choose Edit or Code Editor to open it in a browser-based editor — handy for a quick change without downloading, editing locally, and re-uploading.
Setting file permissions
Right-click a file or folder and choose Permissions (or Change Permissions) to adjust who can read, write, or execute it — WordPress folders typically need 755 and files 644, and getting this wrong can either break the site or create a security risk.
Showing hidden files
Files starting with a dot, like .htaccess, are hidden by default — click Settings in the top-right corner of File Manager and tick "Show Hidden Files" to reveal them when you need to edit one.
Key takeaway: Always download a copy of any file before editing it directly in File Manager — a quick local backup means a typo or bad edit is a two-second undo instead of a support ticket.