TL;DR – Drop one
zero_file_manager.phpfile on your server, browse to it, sign in with the default zero/zero credentials, and you’re instantly managing folders, uploading WordPress themes, or zipping logs—without FTP, SSH, or Composer.
1 — Why Choose Zero?
| Feature | What It Means for You |
|---|---|
| One-file deploy | Upload a single 100 KB script—no vendors, no composer install. |
| Modern UI | Bootstrap 5, live search, dark/light themes, keyboard shortcuts (e.g. Ctrl + S to save). |
| Zero-log philosophy | No telemetry or server-side logs: close the tab and the session disappears. |
| Granular permissions | Flip to read-only, restrict users to sub-folders, or hide owner/perm columns. |
| Inline code editor | Ace Editor supports PHP, CSS, JS, Markdown & 70 + languages, full-screen mode included. |
| Archive tools | One-click ZIP/TAR create/extract plus chunked uploads (2 MB blocks) for huge files. |
| External viewers | Preview PDFs, DOCX, XLSX through Google/Microsoft viewers—no local apps needed. |
2 — Quick-Start Installation (≃ 1 minute)
- Upload the script bashKopyalaDüzenle
scp zero_file_manager.php user@yourserver:/var/www/html/ - Browse to it arduinoKopyalaDüzenle
https://your-domain.com/zero_file_manager.php - Sign in
- Username:
zero - Password:
zero
- Username:
- Change the credentials immediately from Settings → Users and consider renaming the file (e.g.
my_admin_8675309.php) to keep crawlers away.
3 — Tour of the Interface
| Area | What You’ll See |
|---|---|
| Top bar | Search field, Upload icon, New Item dropdown, and a compact user menu. |
| Status ribbon | Green “You are logged in” notice plus real-time feedback on uploads & deletes. |
| Table columns | Name, Size, Modified, Perms, Owner, Actions—all sortable. |
| Action icons | View 👁, Edit ✏️, Rename 📝, Delete 🗑, Download ⬇️—hover for tool-tips. |
Press ? at any time to open the full keyboard-shortcut cheat-sheet.
4 — Core Workflows
Upload & Download
Drag files onto the window or hit Upload. Zero slices anything over 2 MB into chunks, so even giant ZIPs survive flaky hotel Wi-Fi. Select multiple items and click the download arrow to receive an instant ZIP bundle.
Edit in Place
Double-click any PHP, CSS, JS, or Markdown file. The Ace Editor pops open with syntax highlighting, line numbers, and Ctrl + S saving—perfect for hot-patching wp-config.php.
Compress & Extract
Need to send log files to a teammate? Tick them and choose Zip → Download. Pulling in a packaged plugin? Upload the archive, select it, hit Extract, and the folder appears beside it.
Permission Hygiene
Click a file’s Perms value (e.g. 0644) to open the CHMOD dialog—batch-edit multiple selections in one shot.
5 — Security Hardening Checklist
- Rename the script to something unguessable.
- Change default user/pass on first login.
- Serve only over HTTPS; block plain HTTP with a 301 redirect.
- Enable
open_basedirorchrootso PHP can’t wander outside your site root. - Use IP allow-lists if you’re the sole admin: phpKopyalaDüzenle
$allowed_ips = ['203.0.113.0/24', '198.51.100.42']; - Keep PHP updated—Zero inherits the security posture of the underlying interpreter.
6 — Troubleshooting
| Issue | Fix |
|---|---|
| Script downloads instead of running | Your web server isn’t handing .php files to PHP-FPM. Enable the module or add AddHandler application/x-httpd-php .php in .htaccess. |
| White page after upload | Increase upload_max_filesize & post_max_size in php.ini to exceed your biggest file. |
| Permissions error on delete | Ensure files are owned by the same user running PHP (often www-data). |
| Stuck in login loop | Clear browser cookies and verify the server’s session directory (/tmp by default) is writable. |
7 — Power Tips
- Bookmark folders via the star icon for one-click jumping.
- Toggle dark mode from the user menu to reduce eye strain during late-night deploys.
- Split-view uploads: open two browser tabs, drag files from one tab to the other to copy between directories.
- API-ready: wrap Zero behind basic HTTP-auth or a JWT gateway to reuse its upload engine for internal tools.
8 — Conclusion
Zero PHP FileManager condenses everything you need for everyday server housekeeping into one tiny, dependency-free script. Whether you’re fixing a CSS typo on shared hosting, pushing assets to a VPS, or handing off a ZIP to a client, Zero gets out of your way so you can get on with real work.
Ready? Download the latest build and enjoy friction-free file management—zero configuration, zero bloat, zero hassle.