Having trouble with Joomla warning failed to move a file?

Recently, while installing some new packages, like themes and extensions we got stuck with the error Warning! Failed to move the file.

However, by providing exact permission and altering configuration file we were able to resolve the problem.

At Bobcares, we often get requests from our customers to fix Joomla errors as part of our Server Management Services.

Today, let’s get into the details on how our Support Engineers fix this error.

Why Joomla shows warning failed to move file?

Joomla warning failed to move file is quite a common problem.

This error happens when we attempt to install a template or extension via Extensions Manager.

Basically, the root cause of the error is related to the directory’s read/write permissions on the server. So that the Joomla is unable to create the files and folders necessary to install the template/extension.

For instance, the error appears as follows.

Let’s figure out how our Support Engineers help our customers in fixing this problem.

How to deal with the error warning failed to move file?

At Bobcares, where we have more than a decade of expertise in managing servers, we see many customers face problems with Joomla.

Now, let’s see how our Support Engineers fix this error by easy methods.

Incorrect permission

Recently, one of the customers was facing problems while installing modules in Joomla. The customer was stuck with the error message, Warning! Failed to move file.

After further analysis, we could trace that the Directory Permissions were not writable. Thereafter, we corrected the directory permissions of the Joomla website.

In general, we used the following command in the backend.

chmod 755 folder

We have changed the permissions of tmp, logs, and the folder, where customers need to save the file using the above command.

This, in turn, resolved the error.

In addition, we can also change the Directory permissions via the Joomla admin panel.

1. Initially, we logged in to the Joomla admin panel.

2. Then we go through the following path.

System > System Information

Here we could see Folder Permissions tab at the top.

We could trace the folders without write permission, so we set the directory permissions to 755.

Finally, after correcting all folders as writable we installed the extension through the admin panel.

Editing configuration file

We also handled another situation in which the client moved his site to another server. Thereafter, while installing packages like – Modules, Component, Templates & Plugins, we got stuck with the same problem.

This happened while moving a Joomla site from one server to another server. The log & tmp functions present in the configuration.php file contained the directory path of previously installed Joomla i.e. of the old server.

We then resolved the problem easily, by changing some directives in configuration file.

1. Initially, we logged in to the hosting panel and went through the following path and selected the file configuration.php.

File Manager >> Select your Domain/Sub-Domain and then open the configuration.php file.

2. We then found the var $log_path, it will contain the Directory path of user’s old Server. After that we replaced the whole line with the following code.

var $log_path = './logs';

3. Then we found var $tmp_path, it will also have the Directory path of the Old Server. We replaced the whole line with the following code.

var $tmp_path = './tmp';

Now, the problem resolved by making small tweak in the code.

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Conclusion

In short, Joomla warning failed to move file occurs while installing some new packages, themes and extensions in Joomla. We can resolve this by providing exact permission and correcting the configuration file. Today, we saw how our Support Engineers fix this problem.