lbreeze

Upload and manage your website's files

Upload, edit and download your site's files in the file manager, or connect with SFTP, FTP over TLS or SSH.

Your website's files can be reached four ways: the file manager in your control panel, SFTP with a key, FTP over TLS, and SSH on plans that include it. All four lead to the same folder.

Where your files are

Every website has three folders:

  • public_html: what visitors see. Put your site here.
  • logs: the site's own error log.
  • tmp: scratch space.

Neither logs nor tmp is served to visitors.

Use the file manager

  1. In your control panel, select My sites, then the website.
  2. Open the Files tab.
  3. Select Upload, search and unpack to open the full file manager.

In the file manager you can:

  • Upload into the folder you have open. Each file can be up to 32 MB.
  • Find in files: search for a word, a function name or a URL.
  • Unpack an archive here: unpack a .zip you have already uploaded.
  • Pick a file to read or edit it in place. Ctrl-S saves. Download and Delete are at the top of the open file.

Changes save straight to the server. There is nothing to wait for.

Download or upload the whole site

The Your files, in and out card on the Files tab handles the whole site at once.

  • Prepare a download packs the site on the server and tells you its size. Then select Download it. Select Throw it away once you have it, because until then a full copy of your site sits on the server.
  • Upload and unpack takes a .tar.gz of your site. It adds files and overwrites ones with the same name. It never deletes files the archive does not contain.

Connect with SFTP

SFTP uses keys only. There is no password.

  1. On the Files tab, find the SFTP access card.
  2. Paste your public key into the box, one key per line. It is the contents of a .pub file, never a private key.
  3. Select Save keys.
  4. Connect using the Host and User the card shows. Your files land in public_html.

If you do not have a key yet, open I don't have a key yet on the same card. It gives you the two commands to make one and print the public half.

Good to know: clearing the box removes every key, which turns SFTP off.

Connect with FTP

The FTP accounts card adds FTP logins.

  1. Select Add an account, type a username, and optionally a folder to keep the account inside.
  2. Select Save accounts.
  3. Copy the password straight away. It is only shown once. If you lose it, tick new password beside the account and save again.

Connect on port 21 with FTP over TLS (explicit) and passive mode turned on. Plain FTP is refused, because it would send your password in the clear. If your FTP program cannot use TLS, use SFTP instead.

Use SSH

SSH gives you a shell inside your own website, with your PHP, your extensions and your files, and nothing else on the server. It is available on plans that include it.

  1. Add an SFTP key first. SSH uses the same keys.
  2. On the SSH card, tick Allow SSH to this site.
  3. Select Save.
  4. Copy the command shown after Sign in with.

You can also tick Also allow a password, not just a key. We recommend keys: a password can be guessed from anywhere on the internet.

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