Enable Storage Link in Laravel on cPanel

Last update: 01/Jul/2025

1. Access Your cPanel

Log in to your cPanel account provided by your hosting service.

2. Open Terminal (If Available)

If your cPanel has a Terminal option, use it to execute commands directly:

1. Navigate to the root directory of your Laravel application (e.g., public_html or public_html/your-app).
2. Run the following command:

php artisan storage:link

3. Create the Storage Link Manually (File Manager Method)

If you cannot use the terminal, follow these steps to create the symbolic link manually via cPanel's File Manager:

Go to File Manager in cPanel. Locate your Laravel project directory. Find the storage/app/public folder and the public folder. Check for Existing Symlink: Verify if the public/storage folder already exists. Delete it if incorrect. Create the Link: Open File Manager or use the Terminal and navigate to the public directory of your Laravel app. Run the following command:

ln -s ../storage/app/public storage

4. Set Correct Permissions

Ensure the storage and bootstrap/cache directories are writable:

• In cPanel, use File Manager to set permissions.
• Right-click on the storage and bootstrap/cache folders, choose Change Permissions, and set them to 775 or 755.

5. Verify the Link

After creating the link, the public/storage directory should point to storage/app/public

6. Test File Access

Upload a file (e.g., test.jpg) to storage/app/public via File Manager or your Laravel application. Test the link by accessing the file in your browser:

http://your-domain.com/storage/test.jpg

Troubleshooting

Symbolic Link Not Allowed by Hosting: If your hosting provider doesn’t allow symbolic links, contact them to enable this option or use a shared hosting-compatible solution.

Storage Not Accessible: Ensure the APP_URL in your .env file is correctly set to your domain:

APP_URL=http://your-domain.com

Once these steps are complete, your storage link will be active on cPanel!