How to Fix “Missing a Temporary Folder” Error in WordPress

If you face ‘Missing a temporary folder’ error on your WordPress site then you can follow some steps to fix the error given in below. This is the error which makes it impossible to upload images, update themes and plugins, or update WordPress core. In this article, we will show you how to easily fix “Missing a temporary folder” error in WordPress.

What Causes The ‘Missing a Temporary Folder ‘Error in WordPress?

This is the error which is caused by incorrect PHP settings on your WordPress hosting environment. There is a specific PHP setting which is defined by a temporary folder to be used by apps like WordPress to temporarily store data before saving it to the desired location.

WordPress needs access to the folder which is temporary when you upload an image, install or update a theme or plugin, or update WordPress core.

If the location of this folder is not defined in your server’s PHP configuration, then WordPress will be unable to do any of these things and will show you ‘Missing a temporary folder’ error.

Let’s see how to easily fix the ‘Missing a temporary folder’ error in WordPress.

Fix Missing Temporary Folder Error in WordPress

In this article, you will need to edit wp-config.php file in WordPress.

At first, you need to connect your website by using an FTP client or File Manager in cPanel dashboard of your hosting account.

After that, you need to locate the wp-config.php file and edit it.

You need to paste this code to the file just before the line that says ‘That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging’.

.wp-config.php
define('WP_TEMP_DIR', dirname(__FILE__) . '/wp-content/temp/');

Now, save your changes and upload the wp-config.php file back to your website.

After that, you need to go to /wp-content/ folder and create a new folder inside it. You need to name this new folder temp.

You can now visit your WordPress admin area and try uploading an image.

Troubleshooting

If this method doesn’t work properly, then check the directory permissions  for your wp-content folder.

Note: This error is caused by hosting environment which configuration is poor. The solution described above is just a workaround. You should still ask your hosting provider to fix this. If they don’t, then you should switch to one of these top WordPress hosting companies.

We hope this article will help you to fix the ‘Missing a temporary folder’ error in WordPress