PHP protects server performance by limiting file upload sizes, but the default limit is too low for many modern web applications. You’re likely to encounter this issue when a PHP application displays an error message asking you to increase the PHP max upload file size. There are various ways to increase the upload limit, including editing PHP configuration files directly. In this article, we’ll show you how to adjust PHP upload limits in cPanel & WHM quickly.

What Is “upload_max_filesize” in PHP?

The upload_max_filesize directive is a PHP variable set in the system and local php.ini files and user.ini files. These determine the PHP interpreter’s baseline configuration. As you might expect, upload_max_filesize limits the maximum allowable size of an uploaded file. The PHP default is 2 Megabytes, and you will have to increase it if you want to upload larger files via a PHP web application.

You may also have to adjust other directives, including:

• post_max_size, which must be larger than upload_max_filesize.
• memory_limit, which should be larger than post_max_size.

PHP directive values are expressed in bytes. If you set upload_max_filesize to 1000, the maximum size is 1000 bytes. However, you can also use the shorthand byte values K, M, and G for kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes. So, 1000K is 1000 kilobytes and 10G is 10 gigabytes.

How to Increase the PHP Max Upload Size in cPanel?

In cPanel, you can edit PHP directives for locations and domains controlled by your account with the MultiPHP INI Editor, which you will find under Software in the main page menu.

Open the MultiPHP INI editor and select a location from the dropdown.

Scroll to the entry for upload_max_filesize and edit the associated value. Ensure that the value for post_max_size is larger than upload_max_filesize, and click apply at the bottom of the page.

How to Change the PHP Max Upload Size in WHM?

Whereas cPanel allows you to edit PHP directives in local directories, in WHM you can edit directives in the server’s main php.ini file. This affects all accounts using a particular PHP version.

To increase the PHP upload limit in WHM, open MultiPHP INI Editor from the Software section of the sidebar menu. In the dropdown, select a PHP version. PHP versions have independent configurations, so you must edit the max upload variable for all versions you wish to change.

Scroll to upload_max_filesize and edit the adjacent value before clicking Apply at the bottom of the page. Ensure that post_max_size is at least as large.