Showing and editing hidden files such as .htaccess

Files whose name starts with a dot, such as .htaccess, .user.ini or .well-known, are called hidden files. Many programmes don't show them by default. Yet you often need them: .htaccess, for example, contains redirects, the setting to send visitors to https, and WordPress permalinks. "I can't see .htaccess" is therefore one of the questions we get most often.

Showing hidden files in File Manager

Whether File Manager shows hidden files is set in Skin Options:

1. Click Hello, followed by your username in the top right and choose Skin Options.
2. Go to the File Manager block.
3. Tick Show hidden files and folders (1) and click SAVE below the block.

Don't let the description under the setting confuse you: it says "Hide in File Manager all files and folders whose name starts with a dot". With the tick enabled, you do actually see the hidden files.

Then open File Manager and go to domains/yourdomain.com/public_html. Now .htaccess appears in the list (1), among the other files.

Still no .htaccess?

• Are you looking in the right folder? The .htaccess for your website is in public_html of your domain, not in the root folder of your package and not in domains.
• It may not exist yet. A new or empty website has no .htaccess. WordPress only creates it once you click Save changes under Settings > Permalinks. You can also create it yourself: click New File, type .htaccess (with the dot in front, without .txt after it) and click CREATE.
• Is it named differently? Some packages come with an example file, such as htaccess.txt. That does nothing until you rename it to .htaccess (using Rename).

Editing .htaccess

1. Right-click .htaccess and choose Modify.
2. The editor opens showing the file's name and path at the top. Edit the text.
3. Click Save (1).

Please note: A single typo in .htaccess can make your entire website unreachable with a 500 error. So make a copy first: right-click .htaccess and choose Duplicate. If something goes wrong, delete your edited version and rename the copy back to .htaccess. Read more about error 500 in My website is blank or shows a 500 error.

PHP settings such as upload_max_filesize are easiest to set under Select PHP version (see PHP options: upload_max_filesize, memory_limit and max_execution_time). A line with php_value in .htaccess also works (see PHP settings per directory and via .htaccess).

Hidden files in FileZilla and on your computer

• FileZilla usually shows hidden files by default. If you don't see them, choose the option to force showing hidden files in the Server menu (Force showing hidden files) and refresh the list.
• Mac: in Finder, show hidden files with Cmd+Shift+. (period).
• Windows: in File Explorer, enable the Hidden items option under View. Want to create a .htaccess file but Windows won't accept the name? Create it directly in File Manager instead, using New File.

Tip: You can also send visitors to https without .htaccess, with a single tick in DirectAdmin (see Always redirect visitors to https). And redirecting an entire website is easy with Site Redirects (see Site Redirects: forwarding a domain or page).