Symlinked Files and Folders

WordPress.com hosting uses symlinks to securely manage certain files at scale across the platform. This guide explains symlinked files and when you might encounter them on your website.

About Symlinked Files and Folders

On a WordPress.com website, we symbolically link (symlink) WordPress Core files as well as WordPress.com’s own themes and plugins. By using symlinks, we can ensure that the files on your website are always up-to-date and secure.

A symlink or a symbolic link (or a soft link) does not contain real folders in your site’s SFTP file system – you can think of them as shortcuts to the original ones.

You won’t be able to access or edit the symlinked files as they are managed on the platform level. This guide shares alternative options in cases where you may wish to edit a symlinked file.

Recognize Symlinks in SFTP

When accessing your site’s files via SFTP, you will encounter symlinked files and folders.

You can recognize a symlinked file or folder by its icon in your FTP client. Some FTP clients may have a tiny arrow on the bottom-left part of the icon. On others, it might have a question mark over it:

Error Message

When trying to enter the symlinked folder (for example, the __wp__), you’ll encounter an error similar to this:

Error:	/htdocs/__wp__: open for read: no such file or directory
Error:	File transfer failed

Symlinked files cannot be accessed or edited directly. This might give you the wrong impression of not having proper permissions for your SFTP account to access the files, but this is not the case. It just means that the file or folder is symlinked.

Symlinked Themes

WordPress.com uses symlinks to manage all its themes. This allows us to make sure that themes are up to date with the latest patches and to prevent updates that may introduce conflicts.

It is not possible to edit symlinked theme files directly. Basic theme customizations can be achieved using the Site Editor, CSS, or Hooks. Larger theme customizations can be achieved by creating a child theme.

Symlinked themes can be removed via SFTP or CLI. You can then upload the same theme from the WordPress.com theme repository and it will not be symlinked.

Symlinked Plugins

Depending on your plugin-enabled plan, certain plugins will come pre-installed to give you more functionality as you’re starting your site:

Plugins Pre-Installed on the Business plan

The following plugins come pre-installed on the Business plan:

• Akismet*
• Classic Editor
• Crowdsignal Forms*
• Crowdsignal Polls & Ratings*
• Gutenberg*
• Jetpack*
• Layout Grid*
• Page Optimize*

All plugins with an asterisk (*) are activated by default.

Jetpack and Akismet are the only two plugins that must stay installed and activated, as they optimize WordPress.com sites with important security and storage features.

You may deactivate and/or delete any of the other plugins via the dashboard, via SFTP, or by using CLI. You can then upload the same plugins from the WordPress.com plugin repository, and they will not be symlinked.

Plugins Pre-Installed on the Commerce plan

The following plugins come pre-installed on the Commerce plan:

• Akismet*
• AutomateWoo
• Avalara
• Avalara AvaTax
• Blaze Ads*
• Classic Editor
• Crowdsignal Forms*
• Crowdsignal Polls & Ratings*
• Facebook for WooCommerce
• Google Analytics for WooCommerce*
• Google for WooCommerce
• Gutenberg*
• Jetpack*
• Layout Grid*
• MailPoet*
• MailPoet Premium*
• Page Optimize*
• Pinterest for WooCommerce
• TaxJar
• TikTok*
• Woo AI*
• Woo Back in Stock Notifications
• Woo Min/Max Quantities
• WooCommerce*
• WooCommerce Australia Post Shipping
• WooCommerce Brands*
• WooCommerce Canada Post Shipping
• WooCommerce EU VAT Number
• WooCommerce FedEx Shipping
• WooCommerce Gift Cards*
• WooCommerce Product Add-Ons*
• WooCommerce Product Bundles
• WooCommerce Product Recommendations*
• WooCommerce Royal Mail
• WooCommerce Shipment Tracking*
• WooCommerce Shipping & Tax*
• WooCommerce UPS Shipping
• WooCommerce USPS Shipping
• WooPayments*

All plugins with an asterisk (*) are activated by default but may differ based on onboarding selections.

Akismet and Jetpack are the only plugins that must stay installed and activated, as they optimize WordPress.com sites with important security and storage features.

You may deactivate and/or delete any of the other plugins via the dashboard, via SFTP, or by using CLI. You can then upload the same plugins from the WordPress.com plugin repository, and they will not be symlinked.