How do I stop the automatic creation of temporary files in my WordPress site?

  • Hi,

    I recently had to move my WordPress website to a Windows hosting (IIS server) that uses Plesk as control panel

    I only had the issue once I moved this website of mine from a cloud hosting for WordPress to this new hosting plan

    How do I stop the automatic creation of temporary files that are all within httpdocs (the root of my website)?

    The temporary files increased so much in number in a couple of days that I couldn’t access to the website either via ftp or via Plesk (300,000 temporary files in my latest count)

    What is causing the creation of temporary files on my WordPress website?

    I need to know the cause of the problem before I re-install WordPress from scratch so it doesn’t happen anymore

    So far it is a pretty basic WordPress install with a couple of plugins and a purchased theme I have been using for years

    Plesk support and my Web hosting don’t know what is the cause of this problem

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)
  • Moderator bcworkz

    (@bcworkz)

    If your site is identical to what you had in cloud hosting, i.e. the exact same theme and plugins, and no temp files accumulated there, I have to suspect Windows to be the source of temp files like that. However, httpdocs is a weird place for temp files in any O/S. There’s usually a specific tmp folder for that which is regularly flushed.

    If by chance it’s not Windows adding the files but something about your WP site, the temp directory might be defined in wp-config.php or by a plugin or your theme. If so, the constant would be defined as WP_TEMP_DIR. Find where it’s defined and change its location to somewhere more suitable. If there is no such constant defined, it’s likely specified in php.ini. It can be changed there, but you’ll likely need to restart PHP for the change to take effect.

    You may need your host’s assistance in altering php.ini or the Windows temp directory. Note that changing the temp directory will not prevent temp files from being made, but by using a proper system tmp folder, files there should be regularly flushed.

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.