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

Is your WordPress site showing ‘Missing a temporary folder’ error?

This error can hinder you from uploading images, installing plugins, or even updating your WordPress site. Pretty bad, right? The good news is that this is an easily fixable problem.

In this article, we’ll dive deep into the causes and solutions for the Missing a Temporary Folder in WordPress, specifically focusing on image upload issues, wp_temp_dir, and a range of other associated aspects.

We’ll also show discuss how to back up your website before making any changes so you don’t make the problem worst.

Let’s get started!

What is the Missing a Temporary Folder Error?

This error prevents you from uploading images, updating plugins and themes, or updating the WordPress core.

Your WordPress website security might be at stake, so I’ll show you how to fix this error.

What Triggers the “Missing a Temporary Folder” Error?

The “Missing temporary folder” error might appear on your site if a PHP setting in your WordPress hosting environment is incorrect. 

This PHP setting allows you to define a temporary folder where WordPress apps store temporary data. This temporary data is stored there before being saved elsewhere.

This temporary folder thus needs to be accessed when WordPress uploads or installs or updates a plugin or the WordPress core.

For example, a plugin will first get stored in a temporary folder before WordPress creates a new folder for them in the /wp-content folder and stores them permanently.

When WordPress cannot access your server’s temporary folder, the message “Missing Temporary Directory” appears.

Here are some tips on how to fix this error now that you know why it appears!

How to Fix the Missing a Temporary Folder Error

The process for resolving this error is to edit WordPress’ wp-config.php file.

Step 1: Access Your Server Using FTP Client Or CPanel

Step 2: Edit the wp-config.php File

Your website’s root folder usually contains the wp-config.php file, as well as other folders, such as /wp-content/.

After locating the wp-config.php file, make a copy for backup purposes and start editing the original.

 Copy paste the following code to the file before the line that says `That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging’.

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

In my example, le code needs to be added on line 72.

Now save your changes and upload the wp-config.php file back yo your website.!

Step 3: Create a New “Temp” Folder

Next, you need to go to /wp-content folder and create a new folder. The new folder needs to be called Temp.

Step 4: Try to Upload an Image

Once you’ve saved your changes, try uploading an image through your WordPress admin panel. Did it work? Magic, isn’t it?

If the above method hasn’t work, you need to check the wp-content folder permissions.