Are you seeing ‘Missing a temporary folder’ error on your WordPress site? This error makes it impossible to upload images, update themes and plugins, or update WordPress core. In this article, we will show you how to easily fix “Missing a temporary folder” error in WordPress.
What Causes The ‘Missing a Temporary Folder’ Error in WordPress?
This error is caused by incorrect PHP settings on your WordPress hosting environment. There is a specific PHP setting that defines a temporary folder to be used by apps like WordPress to temporarily store data before saving it to the desired location.
WordPress needs access to this temporary folder when you upload an image, install or update a theme or plugin, or update WordPress core.
If the location of this folder is not defined in your server’s PHP configuration, then WordPress will be unable to do any of these things and will show you ‘Missing a temporary folder’ error.
Having said that, let’s see how to easily fix the ‘Missing a temporary folder’ error in WordPress.
Fix Missing Temporary Folder Error in WordPress
For this tutorial, you will need to edit wp-config.php file in WordPress. If you haven’t done this before, then please see our guide on how to edit wp-config.php file in WordPress.
First, you will need to connect to your website using an FTP client or File Manager in cPanel dashboard of your hosting account.
Next, you will need to locate the wp-config.php file and edit it.
You need to paste this code to the file just before the line that says ‘That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging’.
define('WP_TEMP_DIR', dirname(__FILE__) . '/wp-content/temp/');
Save your changes and upload the wp-config.php file back to your website.
Next, you need to go to /wp-content/ folder and create a new folder inside it. You need to name this new folder temp.
That’s all, you can now visit your WordPress admin area and try uploading an image.
Troubleshooting
If this method doesn’t work, then check the directory permissions for your wp-content folder.
Note: This error is caused by poorly configured hosting environment. The solution described above is just a workaround. You should still ask your hosting provider to fix this. If they don’t, then you should switch to one of these top WordPress hosting companies.
We hope this article helped you fix the ‘Missing a temporary folder’ error in WordPress. You may also want to bookmark our ultimate list of the most common WordPress errors and how to fix them.
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Thanks for this info. I had a site that had no issues previously with upgrading and then all of a sudden nothing would work – upgrades, uploads, etc. This fixed it. Thanks so much!
Glad our guide was helpful
Thank you so much for this, it really was easy to follow.
You’re welcome
Thank you. It worked perfectly.
You’re welcome
Thank you so Much, God Bless you
Glad our guide was helpful
Hi all. Unfortunately I have tried to find the wp-config.php file in my cpanel, without any luck. It is just not there.
You may want to check with your hosting provider to ensure you are connected to the correct folder for your site
Thank you!! You saved my nerves…
Thanks’ it worked for me.
Also this error shows up when you have reached your disk quota. I get many clients emailing me about this, but they’ve just been uploading huge files and their web hosting is full. Clear some space and it’ll work again.
Thanks for Suggest..
but i’m tried , before i’ll can’t upload . finish set to set guide line.
pls Anyothers way
Add From Server plugin saved my time. it’s easy to use, just upload your image through ftp and use Add from sever plugin to import to your Media Library.