GoAdmio
GoAdmio Documentation

File Manager

From the GoAdmio knowledge base.

File Manager

This page explains the File Manager in GoAdmio. It is a browser-based tool for uploading, editing, moving, deleting, and permissioning files and folders — without needing SSH or FTP.

Location: Admin Panel → Files & FTP → File Manager
Location (User Panel): Files → File Manager


Overview

The File Manager provides a full-featured file browser for every hosting account's home directory. It is the graphical equivalent of SSH + nano/scp/chmod, and it is usually the fastest way to make small changes to a website — uploading a plugin, editing a .htaccess file, extracting a zip archive, or fixing file permissions.

Key capabilities:

  • Browse the account's directory tree (www, mail, logs, etc, etc.)
  • Upload files from your computer
  • Download files to your computer
  • Create files, folders, and compressed archives
  • Edit text files in a built-in editor
  • Extract and compress ZIP, TAR, GZ, and BZ2 archives
  • Move, copy, rename, delete files and folders
  • Change permissions (chmod) on files and folders
  • Search files and folders by name
  • View file sizes, modification dates, and owners
> Note: The File Manager operates inside the account's home directory. You cannot browse outside /home/<username> from the File Manager for security reasons. To access system paths, use SSH or the Terminal.

What the Page Shows

| Column / Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | File or folder name |
| Size | File size (folders show as — or 4.0 KB) |
| Last Modified | Date and time the file was last changed |
| Permissions | Unix mode (e.g., 0644, 0755) |
| Type | File type (directory, text file, image, archive, etc.) |
| Owner | The user that owns the file (usually the account user) |
| Actions | Per-file actions: edit, download, rename, permissions, delete |

> Tip: Sort by Last Modified to find recently changed files — helpful when debugging a site that broke after a plugin update.


Navigating

  • Breadcrumb / path bar at the top shows the current directory (e.g., /home/example/www)
  • Click a folder name to enter it
  • Click the Up button (or the parent breadcrumb) to go back
  • Use the Search box to find files by name within the current directory tree
> Tip: The account's website root is www. Files uploaded there are the ones visible on the website.

How to Upload a File

  1. Open Files → File Manager.
  2. Navigate to the target directory (e.g., www).
  3. Click Upload.
  4. Choose a file from your computer (or drag and drop it into the upload area).
  5. Wait for the upload to finish.
  6. Click Back to File Manager (or Go Back).
> Note: Upload size limits depend on the server's PHP configuration (upload_max_filesize and post_max_size). For large files, use FTP or the SSH/SCP method instead. See PHP Configuration and FTP Accounts.

Uploading a compressed file

If you have a .zip or .tar.gz archive:

  1. Upload the archive file.
  2. Right-click the archive (or use the Actions menu) and choose Extract.
  3. Choose the extraction directory (usually the same directory).
  4. Click Extract.
This is much faster than uploading files one by one, especially for large plugins or themes.

How to Edit a File

  1. Navigate to the file.
  2. Click Edit next to the file (or click the file name).
  3. The built-in editor opens.
  4. Make your changes.
  5. Click Save Changes.
> Warning: The editor is a plain-text editor — it does not format or validate PHP/HTML/CSS. Syntax errors can break the website immediately. Keep a backup of the original file (download it first, or use Copy to create a .bak copy) before editing.

> Tip: The editor supports syntax highlighting for common file types. If it does not, download the file and edit it locally with a code editor, then re-upload.


How to Create a Folder

  1. Navigate to the parent directory.
  2. Click New Folder (or Create Folder).
  3. Enter the folder name.
  4. Click Create.
> Tip: Create folders before uploading files to keep the directory structure organized. Many applications (WordPress, Laravel, etc.) expect specific folders to exist.

How to Create a File

  1. Navigate to the target directory.
  2. Click New File (or Create File).
  3. Enter a file name (e.g., test.html, .htaccess).
  4. Click Create.
  5. The editor opens — add content and save.

How to Change Permissions (chmod)

  1. Navigate to the file or folder.
  2. Click Permissions (or Change Permissions) in the Actions menu.
  3. Set the mode:
- Numeric mode (e.g., 0644) - Or check the boxes for owner/group/world (read, write, execute)
  1. Optionally check Recurse into subdirectories (for folders).
  2. Click Change.
Common modes:

| Mode | Use |
|---|---|
| 0644 | Regular files (readable by all, writable by owner) |
| 0755 | Directories, executable scripts |
| 0600 | Private files (readable only by owner) |
| 0700 | Private directories |

> Warning: Avoid 0777 unless absolutely required. See Fix Permissions for details and best practices.


How to Compress and Extract

Compress

  1. Select one or more files or folders (use the checkboxes).
  2. Click Compress.
  3. Choose the archive format: ZIP, TAR GZ, or TAR BZ2.
  4. Enter the archive name (or accept the default).
  5. Click Compress.

Extract

  1. Locate the archive (.zip, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2).
  2. Use the Extract action.
  3. Choose the destination directory (default is the archive's directory).
  4. Click Extract.
> Tip: Extracting is the fastest way to deploy a WordPress plugin, theme, or a website backup archive — much faster than uploading thousands of small files individually.

How to Move, Copy, Rename, or Delete

| Action | Steps |
|---|---|
| Move | Select the file → Move → choose destination → Move |
| Copy | Select the file → Copy → choose destination → Copy |
| Rename | Click Rename → enter the new name → Rename |
| Delete | Click Delete → confirm |

> Warning: Deletion is permanent (no trash folder in the File Manager). Download or back up files before deleting. For bulk operations, use SSH (rm, mv, cp) which is faster.


How to Download a File

  1. Navigate to the file.
  2. Click Download (or click the file to download it).
For folders, use Compress first, then download the archive.

> Tip: For large downloads (backups, media), use FTP or SCP — they are more reliable than a browser download for very large files.


Via CLI

For bulk operations, SSH is faster than the File Manager. Common equivalents:

```bash

List files


ls -la /home/<user>/www

Upload via scp (from your local machine)

scp localfile.txt user@server:/home/<user>/www/

Download via scp

scp user@server:/home/<user>/www/file.zip .

Extract an archive

cd /home/<user>/www unzip archive.zip tar -xzf archive.tar.gz

Compress a directory

tar -czf backup.tar.gz www/

Change permissions recursively

find /home/<user>/www -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \; find /home/<user>/www -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
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