The files directory

Last updated August 4, 2010. Created by Ben Finklea on March 7, 2009.
Edited by emmajane, frank0987, greggmarshall, arianek. Log in to edit this page.

In most cases, Drupal would create the files directory for you. If Drupal can't create the directory, follow the instructions below.

After installing Drupal, you will need to ensure the directory files can be accessed by your Web server. If it does not have the correct permissions you may get an error message stating that "sites/default/files does not exist ..."

Here’s how:

1. In the folder sites/default create a new directory called files.
2. Grant read, write and execute permissions on the new directory to the Web server.

Most FTP programs will allow you to create the new directory and set its permissions.

Once you've completed these steps confirm the appropriate permissions have been assigned by navigating to Administer -> Reports -> Status report. Scroll to the section labelled, "File system" and confirm your settings are now correct.

Troubleshooting Apache-based Web Servers

If the directory files is not "owned" by the Web server there are two ways to proceed. These instructions assume you have shell access to the Web server. If you do not have shell access, please contact your hosting provider for additional support.

Ideally you will be able to change the "owner" of the directory files to match the name of the Web server. On a Unix or Linux-based server you may verify "who" the Web server is running as by issuing the following commands:

Depending on your Web server one of these commands will return a series of lines like this:

The first column in the returned text is the "user" that your Web server is operating as. In this case the user is www-data. To make your files directory writeable by the Web server you need to reassign its ownership using the following command:

If you do not have sufficient permissions on your server to change the ownership of the folder, the next best option is to provide group-write access to the folder with the following command:

You should also be able to adjust the directory's permissions using an FTP program as outlined above.

Once you've completed these steps confirm the appropriate permissions have been assigned by navigating to Administer -> Reports -> Status report. Scroll to the section labelled, "File system" and confirm your settings are now correct.

Warning

The most dangerous and least secure option is to assign write access to "everyone." This option should be avoided at all costs. If the steps outlined above do not work, please consider adjusting your hosting configuration (e.g. add your Web server to the appropriate group) instead of granting write access to "everyone."