Accidentally deleted a file, overwrote a page, or broke your site while editing? You can restore a single file or a whole folder from an earlier backup without touching the rest of your Instant Access Internet Services account. This guide shows how to restore a file or folder with JetBackup 5 in cPanel.
Before you start
- How far back can you go? Backups run three times a week and the latest 7 are kept, so roughly the last two weeks. A file created and deleted between two backups can't be recovered.
- Know the path. Your website files are in
public_html. A WordPress image might be inpublic_html/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/, for example. - Restoring replaces the current version. If the file still exists and you want to keep today's copy too, rename or download it first in File Manager.
- cPanel's File and Directory Restoration tool isn't included on standard plans -- JetBackup 5 does this job.
How to restore a file or folder with JetBackup 5
- Log in to cPanel and go to Files > JetBackup 5.
- If this is your first visit, read the terms, tick the I Agree boxes and click Continue to Panel.
- Click Home Directory on the dashboard (or Restore & Download in the left menu, then the Home Directory tab).
- Choose the backup date you want to restore from -- one from before the file was deleted or changed.
- Click Change Files Selection. A file browser opens showing your home directory as it was on that date.
- Click folder names to open them (for example
public_html), then tick the box next to each file or folder you want back. Ticking a folder includes everything inside it. - Click Select Files to save your selection.
- Click Restore.
- Check the list of items. Leave the Merge option off if you want to replace a file that still exists with its older version (see below).
- Accept any restore conditions shown, then click Restore Selected Items.
- Click Queue in the left menu and wait until the status shows Completed.
- Check the file in Files > File Manager, or reload your website.
Tip: Only select what you need. Restoring all of public_html is slower and rolls back every file in it, including ones you changed on purpose.
Merge on or off?
- File was deleted: either works. It comes back in its original place.
- File still exists but is broken or wrong: leave merge off. With merge on, the live copy wins, so the file wouldn't change.
- Restoring a whole folder where some files are newer: turn merge on to bring back missing files without overwriting newer ones.
Just need to look at an old version?
Instead of restoring, click Download after selecting the files, then Download Selected Items. When it's ready, get it from Downloads in the left menu. You can compare the old file on your computer without changing your live site.
Troubleshooting
I can't select individual files
Selecting individual files only works on incremental backups. If a backup doesn't offer Change Files Selection, try another date, or download the backup and copy out the file you need.
The restored file shows a 403 Forbidden or permission error
Check its permissions in File Manager: files are normally 644 and folders 755. See the permissions guide.
I restored a WordPress file but the site is still broken
WordPress content lives in the database as well as in files. You may also need to restore the database from the same date, or restore a WP Toolkit backup of the whole site.
The page still shows the old version
Clear your browser cache and purge LiteSpeed Cache if you use it.
Related guides
- How Website Backups Work on Your Hosting Account (JetBackup 5)
- How to Restore a MySQL Database with JetBackup 5
- How to Use cPanel File Manager to Manage Your Website Files
- File and Folder Permissions Explained (644 and 755)
- How to Download a Copy of Your Website Backup (JetBackup 5)
Still stuck? Open a support ticket and the Instant Access Internet Services team will help.
