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Avaloi

Manage files

See what uses your disk, then upload, download, rename, delete, and edit files from the dashboard.

The Files tab shows what takes up space on an environment and gives you a file manager for everyday changes. Open the site, then Files.

Open it

  1. Open a site and pick the environment in the top bar.
  2. Choose Files.

You see disk usage, the largest folders and files, and the file manager below them.

Browse and edit

Open a folder to list what it holds. Open a text file under 1 MB to read it or edit it in place. Save writes the file back to the environment.

Press Escape, then Tab, to leave the editor with the keyboard.

Upload and download

Upload a file into the folder you have open. Files in the file manager are limited to 256 MB each. Use SFTP for larger files; the credentials are on the Info tab.

Download saves a copy of a file to your computer.

Rename and delete

Rename a file or folder from its row. Deleting asks you to type the file name to confirm.

Create folder makes a folder in the folder you have open, and its parent folders as needed. The POST /v1/environments/{id}/files/folders endpoint does the same.

Live uploads and the data folders

Live runs a read-only release of your code, but two folders stay writable on every environment, live included. They hold your site's own files, not code:

Folder What it holds Backups and copies
wp-content/uploads The media library, form attachments, import files, generated CSS, and anything else plugins save. In every backup and restore point. Copied to a new staging or multidev. A promote leaves live's uploads alone unless you choose Copy new uploads from staging, which only adds files.
wp-content/cache Files plugins rebuild, such as minified CSS and JavaScript. Limited to 2 GB. Not backed up, copied, or promoted. Empty it whenever you like.

On live you can browse, upload, download, edit text files, create folders, rename, and delete inside these two folders. You cannot delete or rename the folders themselves, only what is inside them. Uploads count against your disk space like everything else.

PHP never runs in these folders. A file that ends in .php, .phtml, .phar, .phps, .pht, or .php followed by a digit answers "403 Forbidden" when someone opens it, and the Files tab refuses to save one there. Put PHP in your repository on staging and promote it.

Uploads on live belong to live. A promote copies code only unless you choose Copy new uploads from staging. That option merges: it adds staging's new and updated files to live, never deletes a file that only live has, keeps a live file that is newer than staging's copy, and takes a restore point of live first. Overwrite files that differ is a separate choice that also replaces those newer live files. Staging and multidevs start with a copy of live's uploads, and the Clone database and files card and Reset staging refresh them from live. When you launch live from staging, staging's uploads are copied to live once.

Read-only code on live

Everything outside the data folders is code. The file manager writes code only on staging or a multidev in SFTP mode. On live it is view and download only, and the note above the list says so: "Live code is read only. Only the uploads and cache folders accept changes here. Change code on staging, then promote it to live." Promote from staging opens the promote panel. On an environment in Git mode, code is read only too, because files change only through Git; switch the mode on the Connection mode card on Info. The data folders still take changes there.

The API answers a change to live code with 409 live_is_immutable before it makes a job. PHP in a data folder answers 422 php_upload_refused, and deleting or renaming a data folder itself answers 422 data_folder_protected.

To change code on live, change it on staging and promote. See How Git deploys work.

You need the Files permission to change anything here: Owners, Admins, Developers, and Site Admins and Site Developers on their own sites have it. Viewers and Billing users do not see the Files tab. Avaloi support, under a grant you allow, follows the same rules as you do.

Limits

  • Text files you can edit in the dashboard: under 1 MB.
  • Uploads through the file manager: 256 MB a file.

Quick answers

Why can I not edit a plugin file on live? Live runs a read-only release. Edit the file on staging, then promote staging to live.

Can I upload to the media library on live? Yes. Uploads work in wp-admin and in the Files tab. They stay on live through every promote, rollback, and restart.

Why is my PHP file refused in uploads? PHP never runs in the uploads or cache folders. Add the file to your repository on staging and promote it.

My file is bigger than 256 MB. How do I upload it? Use SFTP. The host, port, and username are on the Info tab.

Where do I see what fills the disk? At the top of the Files tab. Avaloi lists the largest folders and files.

API

  • GET /v1/environments/{id}/files/usage
  • GET /v1/environments/{id}/files
  • PATCH /v1/environments/{id}/files
  • DELETE /v1/environments/{id}/files
  • POST /v1/environments/{id}/files/upload
  • GET /v1/environments/{id}/files/download
  • POST /v1/environments/{id}/files/folders

Still stuck?

Email [email protected] with your site name and what you tried, or send us a message.