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Write access to the WordPress directory

Write access means that PHP, and with it WordPress, may create and change files in the WordPress folders on the server. It’s set per folder and per file, so WordPress can be allowed to write in one place and not in another.

Why it matters

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WordPress needs to write files for several everyday jobs: installing and updating plugins, themes and WordPress itself, saving uploaded images in the uploads folder, and storing the files of page caches and other plugins.

When WordPress can’t write directly, it doesn’t give up. For updates, it asks for FTP or SSH login details instead and uses them to write the files. If you see that request in the admin, the direct write access is missing. Uploads, however, need direct access to the uploads folder.

Restricted access isn’t always a problem. Some hosting providers lock the WordPress files on purpose and take care of updates themselves; that protects the site against changes from outside.

What influences it

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Server: The most common cause of missing write access is file ownership. WordPress writes directly only when the files it creates belong to the same user as its existing files. When PHP runs as a different user than the one who owns the files, for example after a migration or a manual upload over FTP, it falls back to asking for login details. File permissions and read-only storage restrict access further.

WordPress: The constant FS_METHOD in wp-config.php can force a particular way of writing files.

In Permo

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Permo doesn’t check write access. WordPress’s own Site Health screen, under Tools, shows it: the Info tab lists under Filesystem Permissions whether WordPress can write to each folder it needs.

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Sources