How to fix error "Fatal error: Uncaught --> Smarty: unable to write file"?

php permissions migration smarty prestashop
M. Johnson picture M. Johnson · Dec 24, 2014 · Viewed 16.3k times · Source

I migrated Prestashop from localhost to website domain using digitalocean, but when I open this website I get this error

Fatal error: Uncaught --> Smarty: unable to write file /var/www/html/prestashop/cache/smarty/compile/a4/36/f1/wrt549a35e49b3b44_77591243 <-- thrown in /var/www/html/prestashop/tools/smarty/sysplugins/smarty_internal_write_file.php on line 46.

I tried to change permissions on the smarty folder to 755, but it didn't work. I don't know how to fix it.

Answer

gskema picture gskema · Dec 25, 2014

You problem is definitely about permissions. It depends on how Apache and PHP are set up.

First, check who owns the folders. For example, simple apache2 and php installation runs as www-data user. For example, if you connected to FTP with 'user1' and uploaded your files there, then the files are owned by you. The group is probably also set to 'user1'.

Therefore, you can modify, write the files, but PHP processes cannot, because they dont own the files (PHP runs as www-data, for example).

Your best bet is to contact server administrator and ask him to help you out.

Rememeber: never set 777 for any files/folders on a website, solve the problem the correct way.

Related questions

joomla 3 error: 0 Cannot open file for writing log

I'm migrating my joomla 3.3.6 project from local to online server, but I get this error when I try to login into my administrator panel: Error: 0 Cannot open file for writing log My tmp and logs paths are correct in my …

Read More
Block direct access to a file over http but allow php script access

I'm loading my files (pdf, doc, flv, etc) into a buffer and serving them to my users with a script. I need my script to be able to access the file but not allow direct access to it. Whats the …

Read More
Changing permissions via chmod at runtime errors with "Operation not permitted"

When I use chmod() to change permissions at run time, it gives me the below message: Warning: chmod() [function.chmod]: Operation not permitted in /home/loud/public_html/readalbum.php How can I remove this error and make the chmod …

Read More