Guides

How to Install WordPress Themes and Plugins Without FTP (Amazon Linux 2023)

By Ravindra Bagale, AWS & DevOps trainer · LinkedIn · Published: 29 September 2026 · Last updated: 30 September 2026

WordPress asks for FTP details when PHP cannot write to its own files, because the files belong to a different user than the one PHP-FPM runs as. On Amazon Linux 2023, PHP-FPM runs as apache by default (check /etc/php-fpm.d/www.conf), so run sudo chown -R apache:apache /var/www/wordpress, set folders to 755 and files to 644, and restart PHP-FPM; themes and plugins then install directly from the dashboard. define('FS_METHOD','direct'); and WP-CLI are optional helpers. Never use chmod 777.

grep -E '^(user|group)' /etc/php-fpm.d/www.conf       # user = apache, group = apache (default)
sudo chown -R apache:apache /var/www/wordpress
sudo find /var/www/wordpress -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
sudo find /var/www/wordpress -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
sudo chmod 640 /var/www/wordpress/wp-config.php
sudo service php-fpm restart

What do I need before fixing this?

• WordPress installed on Amazon Linux 2023 — see How to Install WordPress on AWS EC2. The path below is /var/www/wordpress; use yours if it is different (for example /var/www/html).
• SSH access with sudo: How to SSH into EC2 from Windows, Mac and Linux.
• It works the same with Apache or Nginx in front, because PHP-FPM is the process that writes the files.

Why does WordPress ask for FTP details?

Before installing anything, WordPress creates a small test file in wp-content and compares its owner with the owner of WordPress's own files. If they match, it uses the direct method and writes the plugin itself. If they do not match — for example the files were copied as ec2-user or root while PHP-FPM runs as apache — WordPress assumes it may not write there and falls back to FTP or SSH, which is why the "Connection Information" form appears.

How do I install themes and plugins without FTP?

Step 1 — Find the user PHP-FPM runs as

grep -E '^(user|group)' /etc/php-fpm.d/www.conf
ps -o user= -C php-fpm | sort | uniq -c

On Amazon Linux 2023 you normally see user = apache and group = apache — also when Nginx is the web server, because the Nginx PHP config on Amazon Linux 2023 only connects to this PHP-FPM pool through its socket. The master process shows as root; the workers that run WordPress show as apache. If your file says another user, use that name in the next steps.

Step 2 — Give the WordPress files to that user

ls -l /var/www/wordpress | head -5                  # who owns the files now?
sudo chown -R apache:apache /var/www/wordpress
ls -ld /var/www/wordpress/wp-content                # owner and group should now be apache

Step 3 — Set safe permissions (755 / 644)

sudo find /var/www/wordpress -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
sudo find /var/www/wordpress -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
sudo chmod 640 /var/www/wordpress/wp-config.php     # database password: owner and group only

755 folders and 644 files let the owner (apache) write, and everybody else only read. That is all WordPress needs.

Step 4 — Restart PHP-FPM and install from the dashboard

sudo service php-fpm restart

Log in to /wp-admin → Appearance → Themes → Add New Theme, or Plugins → Add New Plugin → Install Now → Activate. No FTP form this time. 🎉 Uploading a .zip theme (Upload Theme) and WordPress core updates also work now.

Step 5 — Optional: FS_METHOD direct

If the form still appears after fixing the owner (for example with an unusual setup), you can tell WordPress to always write directly. Open wp-config.php:

sudo nano /var/www/wordpress/wp-config.php

Add this line above /* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */:

define('FS_METHOD', 'direct');

Save (Ctrl+O, Enter) and exit (Ctrl+X). FS_METHOD only changes how WordPress writes. If PHP-FPM still cannot write to the folders, installs fail with "Could not create directory" — so the ownership fix in Step 2 is always the real solution.

Step 6 — Optional: WP-CLI, without the dashboard

WP-CLI installs themes and plugins from the terminal. Install it once:

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/builds/gh-pages/phar/wp-cli.phar
php wp-cli.phar --info
chmod +x wp-cli.phar
sudo mv wp-cli.phar /usr/local/bin/wp

Run it as the PHP-FPM user, so the new files get the right owner (with the full path, because sudo does not search /usr/local/bin on Amazon Linux 2023):

sudo -u apache /usr/local/bin/wp plugin install classic-editor --activate --path=/var/www/wordpress
sudo -u apache /usr/local/bin/wp theme install astra --activate --path=/var/www/wordpress
sudo -u apache /usr/local/bin/wp plugin list --path=/var/www/wordpress

A warning about the WP-CLI cache folder is harmless. Do not run wp as root or with plain sudo: the files would belong to root and the FTP form would come back.

Why not install an FTP server (vsftpd)?

Plain FTP sends the username and password unencrypted, needs port 21 plus a range of passive ports open in the security group, and adds one more service to patch. With the right owner WordPress needs no FTP at all. When you really need to copy files, upload them to your home folder with SFTP (it runs over SSH on port 22, which is already open for My IP) or scp, copy them into place with sudo cp, and run the chown again.

How do I fix common errors when installing plugins?

Ghabru naka 😅 — these are the usual ones: