Permissions decide who can read, write and execute a file. Wrong values cause both 403 errors and security holes.
THE STANDARD VALUES
Folders: 755
Files: 644
Configuration files holding passwords (wp-config.php, .env): 600
CGI or shell scripts: 755
Never use 777. It allows anyone on the server to write to the file, and our server configuration will often refuse to execute such files anyway.
CHANGING PERMISSIONS
- In File Manager, select the file or folder.
- Click Permissions in the toolbar.
- Tick the boxes or type the numeric value.
- To apply to everything inside a folder, tick "Recurse into subdirectories" and choose whether it applies to files only or directories only. Run it twice: once for directories at 755, once for files at 644.
- Click Change Permissions.
COMMON SYMPTOMS
403 Forbidden on a folder: usually permissions below 755, or a missing index file with indexing disabled.
Uploads failing in WordPress: check wp-content/uploads is 755.
"Internal Server Error" after uploading a script: a file set to 777 or a folder set to 775 with group write.
