{"id":5172,"date":"2026-07-04T12:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T12:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.copahost.com\/blog\/?p=5172"},"modified":"2026-07-04T12:24:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T12:24:28","slug":"wordpress-file-permissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.copahost.com\/blog\/wordpress-file-permissions\/","title":{"rendered":"WordPress File Permissions Explained: The Correct chmod Values (644, 755)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

File permissions decide who can read, write, and execute each file on your WordPress site. Set them too loose and you hand attackers a way in; set them too tight and WordPress breaks. The good news: the correct values are simple and well-established \u2014 755 for directories, 644 for files, and stricter for wp-config.php. This guide explains what the permission numbers actually mean, the exact values every WordPress file and folder should have, how to set them via cPanel, FTP, or SSH, and the ownership issue that trips up even careful admins.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Never 777 \u2014 and back up first<\/div>\n

Never set anything to 777<\/strong>. World-writable permissions are exploited in the vast majority of WordPress file-upload attacks \u2014 they let any process on the server overwrite your files. If a tutorial or plugin tells you to “just chmod 777,” don’t; there’s almost always a safer fix. And before running any recursive chmod -R<\/code> command, back up your site<\/strong> \u2014 a recursive command applied to the wrong path or value can break the whole installation in one line.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Table of Contents<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n