What Is Chown? Why Do You Need It When Uploading Files to a VPS?
If you've ever encountered 403 Forbidden, 500 Internal Server Error, or found that PHP files don't execute correctly after uploading them to your VPS, the issue may be incorrect file ownership (chown).
This is a common problem when you upload files via FTP/SFTP or extract archives on a VPS without setting the correct ownership permissions.
In this article, I’ll explain what chown is, why it’s important, common issues if you don’t set it correctly, and how to fix it using chown commands or the "Fix Permission & Chown" feature in VPSSIM.
1. What Is Chown?
1.1. Definition
chown (short for change owner) is a Linux command used to change the ownership of files and directories.
On a VPS, each file and folder is owned by a user and a group. If you upload files via FTP, extract a .zip archive, or modify files as the root user, ownership may not be assigned correctly to the web server user (www-data, nginx, or apache, depending on your system). This can cause errors when the website attempts to access files.
2. When Do You Need Chown?
2.1. When Uploading Files via FTP/SFTP
If you upload files using FileZilla, WinSCP, Termius SFTP, the uploaded files may have incorrect ownership, such as:
- Files are assigned to root instead of the web server user (
www-data, nginx, apache).
- The web server does not have permission to read or write files, leading to errors.
💡 Common signs of incorrect file ownership:
- 403 Forbidden Error: The web server cannot access the file.
- 500 Internal Server Error: PHP cannot execute the file due to incorrect ownership.
- You cannot modify files via FTP/SFTP.
2.2. When Extracting ZIP Files on a VPS
Another common issue arises when you upload a ZIP file and extract it using unzip or tar. The extracted files will inherit ownership from the user executing the command (often root).
If the web server cannot access these files, the website may not function correctly.
💡 Symptoms of incorrect ownership after extraction:
- Blank page on the website or PHP errors due to permission issues.
- Files cannot be edited via FTP/SFTP.
- Files cannot be deleted or modified because they do not belong to the web server user.
3. How to Use Chown to Fix Issues
3.1. Chown Command Syntax
The basic syntax of chown is:
chown user:group file_or_folder
user: The owner of the file. group: The group assigned to the file. file_or_folder: The file or directory to change ownership for.
💡 Important Note:
The web server user depends on the operating system of your VPS:
- On Ubuntu/Debian (Nginx and PHP-FPM):
chown -R www-data:www-data /home/domain.com/public_html/
- On CentOS/RHEL (Nginx and PHP-FPM):
chown -R nginx:nginx /home/domain.com/public_html/
- On CentOS/RHEL (Apache):
chown -R apache:apache /home/domain.com/public_html/
💡 For VPS running VPSSIM, all public_html directories are located in:
📂 /home/domain.com/public_html/
👉 For VPSSIM-managed servers, use this chown command:
chown -R nginx:nginx /home/domain.com/public_html/
🔹 Explanation:
-R: Recursively changes ownership for all files and folders inside. nginx:nginx: Sets the correct user and group (nginx), which is the default for VPSSIM on CentOS/RHEL.
3.2. Fixing File Permissions After Chown
After running chown, it’s recommended to adjust file permissions (chmod) for security reasons:
- Set correct permissions for PHP files:
find /home/domain.com/public_html/ -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
- Set correct permissions for directories:
find /home/domain.com/public_html/ -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
4. Fix Chown Issues Automatically with VPSSIM
If you don’t want to manually run chown commands, VPSSIM provides a "Fix Permission & Chown" feature, which allows you to correct file ownership errors with just a few simple steps.
👉 How to fix file ownership using VPSSIM:
- Open VPSSIM Menu.
- Select Fix Permission & Chown.
- Choose the domain you want to fix.
- Press Enter and wait a few seconds—VPSSIM will automatically correct the file ownership.
💡 Why use VPSSIM for fixing permissions?
✔ No need to run complex commands manually.
✔ Automatically detects the correct web server user (nginx on CentOS/RHEL).
✔ Ensures correct file and directory permissions without breaking the website.
5. Important Considerations When Using Chown
✔ Always check which user runs the web server before using chown.
✔ Do not change ownership of system files, as this may cause server errors.
✔ Use -R only when changing ownership for an entire directory, to avoid affecting unrelated files.
✔ If unsure, use VPSSIM to fix file ownership automatically.
6. Conclusion
Incorrect file ownership is one of the most common reasons for website errors after uploading or extracting files on a VPS. If you experience 403 Forbidden, 500 Internal Server Error, or cannot edit files after uploading, check file ownership and use chown to correct it.
If you prefer an automated solution, VPSSIM offers a Fix Permission & Chown feature, allowing you to resolve ownership issues in just a few clicks.
I hope this guide helps you understand chown and how to use it to prevent file permission errors on your VPS. Thanks for reading.