How to Fix the File Manager Upload Error in CWP (Control Web Panel)

Updated: 28 September 2026 · Applies to: CWP (Control Web Panel) on AlmaLinux 8 and 9 and other Enterprise Linux 8 and 9 servers

Uploads through CWP's File Manager fail with a message such as "upload error", "413 Request Entity Too Large" or a note that the file exceeds upload_max_filesize when the file is larger than the limits of CWP's own web server. CWP runs its panel, File Manager, phpMyAdmin and Roundcube on a separate web server (cwpsrv) with its own PHP, so the limits of your websites' PHP versions do not apply here. The steps follow the CWP wiki.

Option 1: CWP's script

CWP includes a script that raises the upload limits for all its PHP versions at once. The number is the size in megabytes:

sh /scripts/php_big_file_upload 512

Option 2: set the limits by hand

1. Edit the PHP settings of CWP's own web server, /usr/local/cwp/php71/php.ini (list /usr/local/cwp/ if your CWP build uses another PHP folder name), and set, for 500 MB uploads:

   upload_max_filesize = 500M
   post_max_size = 550M
   memory_limit = 1024M
   max_input_time = 300
   max_execution_time = 300

   post_max_size and memory_limit must be larger than upload_max_filesize.
2. Raise the request size limit of cwpsrv in /usr/local/cwpsrv/conf/cwpsrv.conf:

   client_max_body_size 550M;

3. Restart CWP's web server:

   sh /scripts/restart_cwpsrv

If uploads still fail

• Disk space or quota: check df -h and the account's quota in CWP. A full disk or quota also stops uploads.
• Uploads through a website address (not the panel port): the website's web server applies its own limit, for example client_max_body_size in /etc/nginx/nginx.conf or LimitRequestBody in Apache.
• Very large files: use SFTP instead of the browser; it resumes interrupted transfers and has no size limit.

Our Managed CWP VPS comes with CWP installed and looked after by our engineers.

Official documentation: Big file upload via File Manager (Control WebPanel Wiki).