Overview
You will see the terms /home directory, user's home directory, and website directory used very often when reading articles on where to upload and manage your website files. These terms can be confusing since they all point to a different location on the server.
This article explains what these directories are and how to confirm you are in the correct location on the server when managing your website.
Terminology
The following terms are explained in this article:
| Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| User | A user/username is the name assigned to a domain on the server. |
| The server's /home directory | Directory where all users are located |
| User directories | Multiple user directories in the /home directory |
| The user's home directory | A single user's directory. (Also referenced by the ~ symbol) |
| The website directory | Website directory under a single username |
User
A website user is the username assigned to your domain name on the server. This is the username used to log into your server with an SFTP or SSH client to manage your website. Multiple websites can be created under a single username. View the following articles for further information about users at DreamHost.
The server's /home directory
The /home directory is the directory on the server where ALL users are located. This is referenced as /home. On the server it would simply look like this:
/home
- No user at DreamHost has access to this directory.
- This directory only contains various username directories.
- These user directories contain websites.
User directories
The /home directory on the server contains many different usernames. Each username is its own separate directory in the /home directory.
Shared servers
If you are on a shared web server, the usernames you have created along with any other users on that server are located in this /home directory. For example:
/home
/youruser1
/youruser2
/youruser3
/otheruser1
/otheruser2
/otheruser3
VPS or Dedicated Servers
If you are on a VPS or Dedicated Server, only your personal usernames are located in the /home directory. For example:
/home
/youruser1
/youruser2
/youruser3
The user's home directory
This is the directory referenced throughout this knowledge base when the term user's home directory is mentioned.
This directory is often referenced by the ~ symbol. For example:
[server]$ cd ~
The user's home directory is specific to a single user on the server. It is one of many users listed in the /home directory on the server. For example:
/home/youruser1
Only your user has access to this specific user directory. No one else can access it. This is where all of your website and user configuration files reside.
If you have logged into your server via SSH, you can run the pwd command to view which directory you're currently in. This is how it would appear if you're already in your user's home directory.
[server]$ pwd /home/username
What is this directory used for?
This directory is most often used to manage your user's configuration files (such as the .bash_profile) and view your access and error logs. If you need to manage your website files, you must navigate into your website directory instead.
Here is how it would look in an SFTP client like Filezilla:
Default files in the user's home directory
These are the default files you'll see in the user's home directory.
/home/youruser1/
.alias
.bash_profile
.bashrc
.cshrc
/Maildir
/logs
/example.com
The website directory
The website directory is where your actual website files are located. For example:
/home/youruser1/example.com
If you have logged into your server via SSH, you can run the pwd command to view which directory you're currently in. This is how it would appear if you're already in your website directory.
[server]$ pwd /home/username/example.com
A newly-created domain will have the following files added to the website directory:
- favicon.ico
- favicon.gif
- quickstart.html
favicon.ico and favicon.gif help prevent server load from excess 404 pages when the site is experiencing heavy traffic from visitors or web crawlers. quickstart.html acts as the default index page when no other valid index files are present. For more information, please refer to the following article:
Here is how it would look in an SFTP client like Filezilla. You will see all of your website files listed.
Assigning a user to a domain
When you add hosting to a website in the panel, a username is assigned to it. The following articles explain the different ways to add a user to a domain and server.
One user per domain policy
A website can only belong to a single username, but a single user can have multiple websites under it. The following article explains this in more detail.
Summary
When you need to manage your website, you will either be in your user's home directory or website directory.
User's home directory
In this directory, you would configure settings for the user as it applies to all websites under it. For example, editing your .bash_profile or customizing your PHP settings in a phprc file.
Website directory
This is the directory where you would edit a specific website's files.
