What the File Manager does

Every server has a Files tab in its manage page that gives you a full file-system view of the server’s data directory — the same files you’d see if you connected via SFTP. From the browser, you can:

Browse folders and files
Upload files via drag-and-drop
Edit text files in a built-in code editor (with syntax highlighting)
Download files individually or as compressed archives
Compress files into a .zip, .tar.gz, etc.
Extract uploaded archives directly on the server
Rename, move, copy, and delete files
Create new files and folders

For the vast majority of server-management tasks, the in-browser File Manager is faster than firing up an FTP client. Reach for SFTP only when you need to bulk-upload tens of GB or want a persistent connection for repeated edits.

The file URL pattern

The current directory is reflected in the URL hash. So:

/manage/files — root directory of your server
/manage/files#/plugins — inside the plugins/ folder
/manage/files#/world/region — deep folder navigation

This means you can bookmark or share specific folders. A direct link to /manage/files#/plugins opens the file manager already inside the plugins/ directory, no clicking through.

Uploading files

Two ways:

Drag-and-drop

Drag files (or whole folders) from your local desktop into the file manager window. They upload to the current directory.

A progress modal shows file names, total size, and live progress (percentage + bytes transferred). Don’t close the tab until it finishes — closing mid-upload cancels it.

Click-upload

Click the Upload button. A file picker opens; select files from your computer. Same upload flow as drag-and-drop.

Upload limits

Per-file: 100 MB max (we proxy uploads through our network and stream them in chunks; 100 MB is the hard cap)
For larger files: use SFTP instead

If your file exceeds 100 MB, the dashboard will show an error before the upload starts. SFTP doesn’t have this limit — see Using SFTP with FileZilla.

Editing files

Click any text file (.yml, .json, .properties, .txt, .toml, etc.) to open it in the built-in editor. The editor has:

Syntax highlighting for common formats (YAML, JSON, properties files, JS/TS, Python, etc.)
Find and replace (Ctrl+F / Cmd+F)
Auto-indent for structured formats
A Save button that commits changes to the server

Editor changes don’t take effect until you save. And many config files only get re-read by the server on restart. So the typical flow is: edit → save → restart server (Console tab → Restart).

Binary files

Binary files (.jar, .zip, images, etc.) don’t open in the editor — they’re not human-readable text. Click them to download instead, or right-click for the file’s context menu.

Downloading files

Three options:

Single file download

Click the download icon next to a file. Browser downloads it.

Download a folder as an archive

Right-click a folder (or use the action menu) → Compress. Choose a format (.zip, .tar.gz). The server creates the archive in the same directory; download it like any other file.

Bulk download via SFTP

For dozens of files at once, SFTP is faster than clicking through the browser. See Using SFTP with FileZilla.

Compressing and extracting

Compress

Select files (or folders), open the action menu, choose Compress. Pick a format. The server creates the archive in the current directory.

This is useful for:

Bundling a folder of mods to download as one file
Creating a manual snapshot before destructive changes
Packaging files to share with someone

Extract

Right-click any archive file (.zip, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2) → Extract (or Decompress). The contents extract into the current directory.

A progress modal appears with the archive’s filename and an indeterminate progress indicator (the underlying extraction streams in the background, so the modal closes when files appear). For large archives, this can take a minute — leave the modal open.

This is useful for:

Uploading a mod pack as a single .zip and extracting on the server
Restoring files from a backup you downloaded
Importing world saves bundled by other tools

Renaming, moving, copying, deleting

Right-click any file or folder for the context menu. Standard operations:

Rename — change the file’s name
Move — relocate to another folder (you’ll be prompted for the destination)
Copy — duplicate the file
Delete — permanent (no trash; gone immediately)

Be careful with delete. There’s no undo. If you delete world/ you’ve deleted your world. If you absolutely must, take a backup first.

Common workflows

Installing a plugin manually

Download the .jar from the plugin’s website
Open File Manager → navigate to /plugins/
Drag the .jar into the folder
Open Console tab → Restart the server

Uploading a custom modpack

Bundle your modpack files into a .zip (locally)
Open File Manager → root directory
Drag the .zip in
Right-click → Extract
Adjust startup variables on the Startup tab to match the modpack’s expected launcher
Restart

Editing server.properties

Open File Manager → root directory
Click server.properties
Edit values in the editor
Save
Restart the server (changes only apply on restart)

Restoring a backup someone sent you

Open File Manager → root directory
Drag the backup .tar.gz in
Right-click → Extract
Restart the server

Quick text edit

Open File Manager → navigate to the config file
Click to open in editor
Edit, save, restart

Cleaning up old logs

Open File Manager → /logs/
Sort by date
Select old log files (use Shift-click for ranges)
Right-click → Delete
Repeat for /crash-reports/ if you have them

Old logs and crash reports often eat hundreds of MB on long-running servers — especially modded ones.

Permissions and what you can / can’t do

The File Manager runs as your server’s user inside its environment. You can:

Read/write/delete any file inside your server’s data directory
Make any change to plugins, mods, configs, worlds, etc.

You can’t:

Access other servers’ files
Touch system files outside your server’s data directory
Run arbitrary shell commands (use the Console tab for game commands)

This is by design — your server is sandboxed.

Common questions

“Why doesn’t drag-and-drop work for me?” Some browser extensions (especially aggressive ad blockers) interfere with the upload handler. Try in a different browser or with extensions disabled. Also confirm your file is under 100 MB.

“My uploaded file isn’t showing in the directory.” Refresh the file list (the back-arrow + return-to-folder dance). Sometimes the listing is cached.

“I uploaded to the wrong folder. Now what?” Right-click the file → Move → choose the correct folder.

“How do I bulk-upload a hundred files?” Either drag them all in at once (browsers handle multi-select fine), or zip them locally, upload one zip, extract on the server.

“Can I edit the world files?” Technically yes (they’re files in the file system), but world files are binary and not meant to be edited by hand. Use a server tool (WorldEdit, MCEdit) instead.

“Can I see file timestamps?” The file listing shows last-modified time. Useful for “when did this config last change?”

Using SFTP with FileZilla — for bulk transfers and persistent connections
Using the In-Browser Console — for game commands
Managing Server Backups — automated backup system