This section contains detailed articles elaborating on some of the common issues phpBB users encounter while using the product. Articles submitted by members of the community are checked for accuracy by the relevant phpBB Team. If you do not find the answer to your question here, we recommend looking through the Support Section as well as using the Site Wide Search.

phpBB3 Chmod Permissions

Description: How to set correct file/ folder permissions on a Unix based server.

In Categories:

Link to this article: Select All
[url=https://www.phpbb.com/support/docs/en/3.2/kb/article/phpbb3-chmod-permissions/]Knowledge Base - phpBB3 Chmod Permissions[/url]

CHMOD Overview
  • Chmod is a method for changing file and folder permissions on Linux based web servers.
    • If you are using a Windows web server this method of setting file permissions does not apply to you. On Windows servers file and folder permissions are usually automatically set for you based on the web hosts set-up, thus you should contact your web host regarding any permission issues you encounter on a Windows Server.
    • It is important to set the correct file and folder permissions to ensure the forum software can function properly while being as secure as possible.
Correct Chmod Values
  • config.php
    • 666 before installation
    • 644 after installation
  • All other files - 644
  • All directories - 755
    • There are some exceptions when it comes to directory permissions,
      • The files directory - 777
      • The cache directory - 777
      • The store directory - 777
      • The images/avatars/upload directory - 777
Using Your FTP Client To Set Permissions
  • My screen shots are taken from the Cuteftp ftp client, you may find your ftp client is slightly different, essentially though the instructions are the same.
    • You will need to connect to your web host using your ftp client. To do this you will need the ftp client configured with your valid ftp login details. you may need to use your hosts FAQ or support to get these details.
    • Once you have connected to the host you should (in most cases) be logged into the 'root' directory. From here you need to browse down into the phpBB installation folder. Its location will depend on where you installed phpBB - it could be in the root or inside another folder.
    • Once you are in the right location you need to right click a file, or highlight multiple files and then right click. In the right click menu select the option chmod/properties as shown in the image. (what you have in the right click menu will depend on the ftp client used)

      Image
    • After you have selected the right click option you should get a pop up box where you can set the chmod/permissions values. Depending on your ftp client you will either have a numerical value you can change or a set of tick boxes to tick as show in the following image,

      Image
    • Earlier in the article I gave you the numerical values for the permissions you need to set. This may be a problem if your ftp client only has check boxes and not a numerical entry box. For this reason I have included a number of images showing which check-boxes need checking for each chmod value.

      644
      Image

      666
      Image

      755
      Image

      777
      Image
    • Once you have set the permissions click "Apply" to apply the new permission/s to the selected files or folders. Once this is done right click the file or one of the files you have just edited the permissions for and check the new permission has 'taken'. If the new permission has not stuck I suggest trying it again with a different ftp client (strange as this may sound, it often works)