# Using the file manager

## What this is about

The **Files** tab lets you work with your server's files right in the browser:
edit configs, upload worlds and mods, unzip archives, and download anything to
your computer. You don't need any extra software.

[![The Files tab](https://knowledgebase.suhosting.net/uploads/images/gallery/2026-10/scaled-1680-/gen-files-selection.png)](https://knowledgebase.suhosting.net/uploads/images/gallery/2026-10/gen-files-selection.png)

The bar at the top shows **Disk Usage** against your plan. The path
(`home / container / …`) shows where you are. Click any part of it to jump back up.

## Opening and editing files

Click a file to open it in the editor. Make your changes, then click **Save**
(or press **Ctrl+S**).

[![Editing serverconfig.json](https://knowledgebase.suhosting.net/uploads/images/gallery/2026-10/scaled-1680-/gen-editor.png)](https://knowledgebase.suhosting.net/uploads/images/gallery/2026-10/gen-editor.png)

- **File History** (the clock icon next to Save) keeps earlier versions of files you've edited in the panel. Pick a revision to **view the differences** or **restore it into the editor**. Restoring doesn't save on its own, so click **Save** afterwards.
- If you have unsaved changes, **Discard changes and load the file from disk** throws them away.
- If someone else changes the file while you're editing (for example over SFTP), a banner offers **Load Disk Version** or **Keep Editor Version**.

<p class="callout warning"><strong>Stop the server before editing its config</strong> if the game rewrites the file when it shuts down. Vintage Story does this with <code>serverconfig.json</code>, so edits made while it's running are lost.</p>

## Uploading

- **Drag and drop** files *or whole folders* onto the file list.
- Or use **New → File from Upload** / **Directory from Upload**.

There's no size limit for uploads in the browser. Big uploads can be **paused
and resumed** from the file's ⋯ menu. If you reload the page mid-upload, use
**Re-select file to resume** to carry on where it left off.

If a file with the same name already exists, you'll be asked to **Skip**,
**Overwrite** or **Rename**.

<p class="callout info">See a banner saying <em>"Some uploads to this server never finished"</em>? A partial file was left behind. Click <strong>Review Uploads</strong> to resume or delete it.</p>

## The New menu

[![The New menu](https://knowledgebase.suhosting.net/uploads/images/gallery/2026-10/scaled-1680-/gen-files-new-menu.png)](https://knowledgebase.suhosting.net/uploads/images/gallery/2026-10/gen-files-new-menu.png)

| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| **File from Editor** | Create a new, empty text file |
| **Directory** | Create a folder |
| **Symlink** | Create a shortcut to another file or folder |
| **File from Pull** | Download a file straight onto your server from a web link. Paste the URL, click **Query** to fill in the name, then **Pull**. |
| **File from Upload** / **Directory from Upload** | Upload from your computer |

## The ⋯ menu on each file

Click **⋯** at the end of a row, or right-click it.

[![The file menu](https://knowledgebase.suhosting.net/uploads/images/gallery/2026-10/scaled-1680-/gen-files-file-menu.png)](https://knowledgebase.suhosting.net/uploads/images/gallery/2026-10/gen-files-file-menu.png)

| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Open** | Open in the editor (or in a pop-up/new tab) |
| **Rename** / **Move** / **Copy** | Exactly what they say |
| **Remote Copy** | Copy to **another of your servers** |
| **Archive** | Zip it up (or **Extract** if it's already an archive) |
| **Download** | Save to your computer. Folders download as an archive, and you can pick the format. |
| **More** | Details, fingerprint (checksum) and permissions |
| **Delete** | Delete it |

## Working with many files at once

Tick the boxes on the left (or the top box to select everything). A toolbar
appears at the bottom with **Download**, **Remote Copy**, **Copy**,
**Archive**, **Rename**, **Move** and **Delete**.

- **Copy** and **Move** let you browse to the destination, then click **Copy here** / **Move here**.
- **Rename** on several files can find-and-replace, add a prefix or suffix, change case, or number them.

<p class="callout danger"><strong>Deleted files can't be recovered</strong> from the file manager. Make a <a href="https://knowledgebase.suhosting.net/books/game-panel/page/backups-create-restore-and-download">backup</a> before big clean-ups.</p>

## Zips and other archives

- **Create:** select files, choose **Archive**, pick a name and format (`.zip` is the most compatible, `.tar.gz` is common on Linux), then click **Create**.
- **Extract:** open the ⋯ menu on an archive and choose **Extract**, then pick the destination folder. Works with zip, 7z, rar, tar, gz and more.

Both run in the background. Watch the progress indicator at the top.

## Searching

Click **Search** in the path bar. You can search by name, or open
**Advanced Filters** to search **inside files**, filter by size, or include and
exclude paths (e.g. `*.json`, or skip `Cache/**`).

## Other ways in

- **Connect → via SFTP** for a desktop program like WinSCP or FileZilla. See [Connecting with SFTP](https://knowledgebase.suhosting.net/books/game-panel/page/connecting-to-your-server-with-sftp).
- **Connect → via VS Code** to open the files in Visual Studio Code.