# Explorer FTP (explorerftp) — Documentation

> Explorer FTP (explorerftp) is a file manager built into the PrestaShop back office. It lets you browse the shop's file tree, edit text and code files with a built-in editor,…

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- Last updated: 2026-07-09
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**Explorer FTP** (`explorerftp`) is a file manager built into the PrestaShop back office. It lets you browse the shop's file tree, edit text and code files with a built-in editor, upload and download files, and export folders as ZIP archives — without an external FTP client. This documentation covers installation, full usage, the security model and troubleshooting.

## Overview

Explorer FTP adds an entry under _Advanced Parameters_ in the back office. From this interface, an employee with the required permissions can browse the shop's files, open a code editor with syntax highlighting, create folders, rename, copy, move or delete items, upload files by drag & drop, and generate ZIP archives. All access is strictly confined to the PrestaShop root directory.

## Requirements

- PrestaShop 8.0 or higher (compatible with 9.x).
- PHP 8.0 or higher.
- PHP `ZipArchive` extension for the ZIP export features.

## Installation

### From the back office

1. Go to _Modules > Module Manager_.
2. Click _Upload a module_ and select the `explorerftp.zip` archive.
3. The module installs automatically and creates its administration tab.

### Via FTP

1. Unzip the archive and drop the `explorerftp` folder into your shop's `/modules` directory.
2. In _Modules > Module Manager_, search for "Explorer FTP" and click _Install_.

After installation, the **Explorer FTP** entry appears under the _Advanced Parameters_ menu.

## Accessing the module

Open _Advanced Parameters > Explorer FTP_. Access is limited to profiles that have permission on the _AdminExplorerFtp_ tab: you can restrict its use to specific employee profiles from _Team > Permissions_.

## Interface

### Toolbar

- **Back / Parent folder / Refresh**: navigation within the tree.
- **Breadcrumb**: shows the current path and lets you jump back to any level.
- **Search**: search by file or folder name in the current directory and its subfolders (heavy directories such as `vendor`, `var`, `cache`, `node_modules` and `.git` are skipped).
- **Upload** and **New folder**: add files or create directories.

### Tree and list

The side panel shows the folder tree; the main panel lists the items in the current folder with their size, modification date and permissions. Columns are sortable (name, size, date). Right-clicking an item opens the full context menu.

## Code editor

Clicking the edit icon (or _Edit_ in the context menu) opens the file in a full-screen editor based on CodeMirror, with syntax highlighting for PHP, HTML, Smarty (.tpl), Twig, CSS/SCSS/LESS, JavaScript, JSON, XML, YAML, SQL and Markdown. Search, code folding and bracket matching are supported.

- Only text and code file types are editable (php, tpl, twig, css, js, json, xml, yml, md, sql, etc.).
- The maximum editable size is 5 MB per file.
- Click _Save_ to write the changes.

On every save, a timestamped backup of the file is created in `var/explorer_backups`. The 50 most recent backups are kept; older ones are deleted automatically.

## Uploading files

Upload files by dragging them onto the drop zone or via the _Upload_ button. Files are placed in the current folder, provided it is writable.

For security reasons, server-executable file types (`php`, `phtml`, `phar`, `cgi`, `sh`, etc.) are rejected on upload. Only safe formats (documents, images, fonts, archives, text and web files) are accepted. Existing PHP files remain editable through the editor.

## Download and ZIP archives

- **Download a file**: downloads the selected file.
- **Download ZIP**: compresses a folder and downloads it as a timestamped ZIP archive.
- **Save ZIP to server**: generates the archive and saves it directly to a destination folder in the shop, without downloading.

## File operations

The context menu (right-click) and the row actions let you:

- **Rename** a file or folder.
- **Copy** or **Move** an item to another folder via the destination tree.
- **Delete** a file or folder (recursively).
- **Properties**: shows the path, size, dates, permissions, owner and MIME type.

## Security model

Explorer FTP applies several layers of protection:

- **Root scope**: all operations are confined to the PrestaShop root directory. Supplied paths are normalized with `realpath()` and then verified to prevent any directory traversal ("path traversal").
- **Security token**: every AJAX request is validated with an admin token, compared in constant time.
- **Protected folders**: critical directories (`app`, `bin`, `classes`, `config`, `controllers`, `override`, `src`, `tools`, `var`, `vendor`) cannot be deleted.
- **Restricted upload**: an extension allow-list and blocking of executable types (see "Uploading files").
- **Security headers**: anti-clickjacking (`X-Frame-Options`) and anti-MIME-sniffing (`X-Content-Type-Options`) on the controller responses.

Explorer FTP is a powerful administration tool. Restrict its access to trusted employee profiles and make sure your back office is served over HTTPS.

## Troubleshooting

### "Directory is not writable" on upload or creation

The destination folder does not have write permissions. Adjust the permissions of the relevant folder on your server.

### ZIP features are unavailable

The PHP `ZipArchive` extension is not installed or enabled on the server. Ask your host to enable it.

### A PHP file cannot be uploaded

This is the expected behavior: uploading executable files is blocked. To modify an existing PHP file, use the built-in editor.

If a file is edited by mistake, restore the previous version from `var/explorer_backups`.

## Uninstallation

From _Modules > Module Manager_, click _Uninstall_ next to Explorer FTP. The administration tab is removed. The shop's files and the backups in `var/explorer_backups` are not deleted.