Fix the “Upload: Failed to Write File to Disk

If your site receives the “Upload: Failed to Write File to Disk” issue, it can be quite inconvenient because you won’t be able to upload new files until the problem is resolved.

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to fix this WordPress error and get your assets back into your Media Library. Adjusting a few settings using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and contacting your hosting provider are two possible alternatives.

We’ll explain why you’re getting the “Upload: Failed to Write File to Disk” error on your WordPress site in this article. Then we’ll walk you through three possible alternatives for resuming your workflow.

Let’s get started!

Contents Table of Contents
Why You’re Seeing the “Upload: Failed to Write File to Disk” error in WordPress
How to Fix the WordPress Upload: Failed to Write File to Disk Error (3 Potential Solutions)
What’s Causing Your WordPress “Upload: Failed to Write File to Disk” Error?
The Upload: Failed to Write File to Disk Error is almost always caused by a problem with your site’s file permissions. WordPress only allows specific users to edit its files, including the uploads folder, as a security measure.

Your upload attempts will fail if the permissions for this folder are set to restrict users from editing or ‘writing to’ it. You can easily assess if this is the issue by utilizing the Site Health tool.

In your dashboard, go to Tools > Site Health and select the Info tab. The file permissions for a few directories, including the uploads directory, are displayed in the last dropdown menu:

permissions on the file system
Site Health’s Filesystem Permissions dropdown
Writable should be selected for the directory. If it’s set to Not writable, you’ve got a permissions problem on your hands.

There are a couple of other, less prevalent causes for this issue. WordPress saves new media files in a temporary subdirectory before moving them to the uploads directory. The Upload: Failed to Write File to Disk problem may appear if the temporary folder is full or unavailable.

You may also notice this error if you’ve used all of the disk space on your server that was allowed to you by your hosting plan. It’s your server’s method of alerting you there’s no more space for more files in this scenario.

How to Fix the Upload: Failed to Write File to Disk Error in WordPress (3 Potential Solutions)
Getting the Upload Right: The solution to the Failed to Write File to Disk problem is quite straightforward. Based on the root cause, below are three ways for dealing with this problem.

Change the Uploads Directory’s File Permissions
Delete the Temporary Folder in WordPress.
To get more disk space, upgrade your hosting plan.
1. Modify the Uploads Directory’s File Permissions
You’ll need to use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to fix your Upload: Failed to Write File to Disk error if you used the Site Health tool to establish that it’s due to incorrect permissions. If you’re new to the process, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide to help you get started.

An FTP client, such as FileZilla, must be installed on your computer (if you want to show hidden files here is the trick). Your FTP credentials, which you should be able to find in your hosting account dashboard, are also required.

Customers of Kinsta can identify theirs by going to Sites, clicking on the relevant domain, and then looking under SFTP/SSH in the Info tab:

In the MyKinsta dashboard, you’ll find FTP credentials.
In MyKinsta, you’ll find FTP credentials.
Start your connection to the server by entering your credentials in your FTP client. Then go to public html > wp-content:uploads to find your uploads directory.

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Now is the time to join the ftp uploads directory.
Using FileZilla to access the uploads directory
Select File Permissions: from the context menu when you right-click on the folder.

permissions to access files
Setting Permissions on a File
The rights settings for your site’s files are determined using a numerical approach. The path to your uploads directory should be 755:

make a file permissions update
Changing permissions on a file
To save your modified permissions settings, click the OK button. Return to your WordPress site after that.

If you go back to the Site Health tool, you should see that your uploads folder is now labeled as Writable:

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Web site on health
Permissions for writable files in the Site Health tool
You should now be able to upload files to your WordPress site without difficulty.

2. Delete the Temporary Folder in WordPress.
If file permissions aren’t the issue, consider deleting the temporary folder used by WordPress to upload files to your site. Unfortunately, you will not be able to access this directory over FTP.

Instead, you’ll need to get in touch with your hosting provider for assistance. The support team should be able to access this hidden file on your server and determine if it’s full or generating the Upload: error. Error: Failed to Write File to Disk

3. Increase your disk space by upgrading your hosting plan.
It’s also conceivable that you’ve used up all of your hosting plan’s disk space (here’s how to check your disk use in WordPress). This is especially true if your site is hosted on a shared server and has developed over time as a result of the addition of posts and pages, plugins, and themes, among other things.

The amount of disk space you’re currently utilizing will be displayed in most hosting accounts. Customers can find this information under Resource usage: in their MyKinsta dashboard.

MyKinsta’s disk utilization
Fortunately, there is a simple remedy to this issue. Simply upgrade to a new hosting plan if your site’s current disk space allocation has reached its limit. Your supplier should provide detailed instructions on how to switch to a different package.

Are you getting the “Upload: Failed to Write File to Disk” issue on your site? It’s a bummer, but it’s typically a simple repair. Check out these three options for resolving the issue and getting back to posting files.
CLICK HERE TO TWEET SYNOPSIS
Getting the Upload to Work: Quickly resolving the Failed to Write File to Disk error in WordPress is critical to ensuring that the problem does not hold down your business. The three most popular potential remedies to this mistake are as follows:

Check your uploads directory’s file permissions.
Delete the temporary WordPress folder.
To get extra disk space, upgrade your hosting plan.
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