{"id":1820,"date":"2025-06-13T09:13:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T09:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/?p=1820"},"modified":"2025-06-13T09:13:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T09:13:43","slug":"how-to-show-hidden-files-in-cpanel-file-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/how-to-show-hidden-files-in-cpanel-file-manager\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Show Hidden Files in cPanel File Manager (2025 Guide)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>How to Show Hidden Files in cPanel File Manager<\/strong> is a common question for website owners, developers, and administrators who need full control over their website configurations. In cPanel, many important system and website files are hidden by default \u2014 these are known as <em>dotfiles<\/em> because their names start with a period (<code>.<\/code>), such as <code>.htaccess<\/code>, <code>.bash_profile<\/code>, and <code>.user.ini<\/code>. These hidden files often contain critical settings that control site behavior, redirects, security, caching, and much more.<br>In this complete step-by-step guide, we\u2019ll show you <strong>how to show hidden files in cPanel File Manager<\/strong> safely and efficiently. Whether you\u2019re troubleshooting, customizing your server settings, or performing advanced configuration, this guide will help you confidently locate, view, and modify hidden files without risking your website\u2019s stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Are Hidden Files Important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Hidden files often contain:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Configuration settings<\/strong> (e.g. <code>.htaccess<\/code>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Server directives<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rewrite rules<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Security settings<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Editing these files allows you to control redirects, password protection, caching, and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Show Hidden Files in cPanel File Manager \u2014 Step-by-Step<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 1: Log in to Your cPanel Account<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udc49 <strong>Image Placeholder Here (Screenshot of cPanel login screen)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Access your hosting account at:<code>https:\/\/yourdomain.com:2083<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter your <strong>username<\/strong> and <strong>password<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/how-to-login-in-cpanel\/\">Log In<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 2: Open File Manager<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"669\" src=\"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-of-File-Manager-icon-in-cPanel-dashboard-1024x669.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Screenshot of File Manager icon in cPanel dashboard\" class=\"wp-image-1817\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-of-File-Manager-icon-in-cPanel-dashboard-1024x669.webp 1024w, https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-of-File-Manager-icon-in-cPanel-dashboard-300x196.webp 300w, https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-of-File-Manager-icon-in-cPanel-dashboard-768x502.webp 768w, https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-of-File-Manager-icon-in-cPanel-dashboard-1536x1003.webp 1536w, https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-of-File-Manager-icon-in-cPanel-dashboard-2048x1338.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>From the cPanel dashboard, locate the <strong>Files<\/strong> section.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click on <strong>File Manager<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 3: Access File Manager Settings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Inside File Manager, go to the upper-right corner.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click on <strong>Settings<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 4: Enable &#8220;Show Hidden Files (dotfiles)&#8221;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"495\" src=\"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-of-Preferences-popup-with-checkbox-selected-1024x495.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Screenshot of Preferences popup with checkbox selected\" class=\"wp-image-1818\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-of-Preferences-popup-with-checkbox-selected-1024x495.webp 1024w, https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-of-Preferences-popup-with-checkbox-selected-300x145.webp 300w, https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-of-Preferences-popup-with-checkbox-selected-768x371.webp 768w, https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-of-Preferences-popup-with-checkbox-selected-1536x742.webp 1536w, https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-of-Preferences-popup-with-checkbox-selected-2048x989.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A <strong>Preferences<\/strong> window will open.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check the box for:<br>\u2705 <strong>&#8220;Show Hidden Files (dotfiles)&#8221;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Save<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 5: View and Edit Hidden Files<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>After saving, you\u2019ll now see all hidden files starting with a dot (<code>.<\/code>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You can view, edit, copy, or download these files as needed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Common Use Case: Editing the .htaccess File<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Redirects<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>SSL enforcement<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Custom error pages<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Password protection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cache control<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Always make a backup before modifying critical files like <code>.htaccess<\/code> to avoid website downtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Security Tip: Handle Hidden Files with Care<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Since these files control sensitive website functions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Always back up before editing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Double-check syntax to avoid misconfigurations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Limit access permissions for security.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Need Help? Hostrago Support Is Here<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re uncomfortable editing hidden files, contact our expert support team:<br>\ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/contact-us\">Contact Hostrago Support<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more useful cPanel tutorials, check out the <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/\">Hostrago Knowledge Base<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>How to Show Hidden Files in <a href=\"https:\/\/cpanel.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cPanel <\/a>File Manager File Manager is simple but powerful. It allows you to fully control advanced website features and troubleshoot errors efficiently. Just be sure to handle changes carefully!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udc49 For more expert hosting tutorials, visit our growing <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/\">Hostrago Knowledge Base<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to Show Hidden Files in cPanel File Manager is a common question for website owners, developers, and administrators who need full control over their&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[227,179,226,225,230,229,224,126,176,228],"class_list":["post-1820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cpanel","tag-htaccess","tag-cpanel","tag-dotfiles","tag-file-manager","tag-file-permissions","tag-ftp","tag-hidden-files","tag-hostrago","tag-web-hosting","tag-website-configuration"],"menu_order":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1820"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1821,"href":"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1820\/revisions\/1821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hostrago.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}