Unable to log into Plesk or install an extension: Directory does not exist or isn’t writable: /usr/local/psa/tmp

Symptoms

• Unable to log in to Plesk GUI with one of the following error messages:

  500 PleskFileExeption Directory does not exist or isn't writable: /usr/local/psa/tmp

  Service_Agent_Exception: Can't create transaction directory
   file: /opt/psa/admin/plib/Service/Agent/Transport/LocalTransaction.php
   line: 63
   code: 0

• Plesk keeps loading and the following error can be found in /var/log/plesk/panel.log file:

  PHP Warning: mkdir(): Permission denied; File: /opt/psa/admin/plib/Service/Agent/Transport/LocalTransaction.php, Line: 58

• The installation of any extension fails:

  PLESK_ERROR: Directory does not exist or isn’t writable: /usr/local/psa/tmp

• The Plesk tmp folder is missing:

  Check troubleshooting

  • For RHEL-based OSes (CentOS, RHEL, CloudLinux):

    # ls -d /usr/local/psa/tmp
    ls: cannot access /usr/local/psa/tmp: No such file or directory

  • For Debian and Ubuntu OSes:

    # ls -ld /opt/psa/tmp
    ls: cannot access ‘/opt/psa/tmp’: No such file or directory

  OR the permissions in the Plesk tmp folder are different from the following:

  Check troubleshooting

  • For RHEL-based OSes (CentOS, RHEL, CloudLinux):

    # stat -c “%a %U %G %n” /usr/local/psa/tmp
    1777 root root /usr/local/psa/tmp

  • For Debian and Ubuntu OSes:

    # stat -c “%a %U %G %n” /opt/psa/tmp
    1777 root root /opt/psa/tmp

Cause

Missing or incorrect permissions for the directory /usr/local/psa/tmp/ (RHEL-based OSes) or /opt/psa/tmp (Debian-based OSes)

Resolution

1. Connect to the server via SSH

2. Make sure that the Plesk tmp directory is created by running the following commands:

   • For RHEL-based OSes (CentOS, RHEL, CloudLinux):

     # DIR=”/usr/local/psa/tmp”; if [ ! -d “$DIR” ]; then mkdir -p “$DIR”; fi

   • For Debian and Ubuntu OSes:

     # DIR=”/opt/psa/tmp”; if [ ! -d “$DIR” ]; then mkdir -p “$DIR”; fi

3. Set the valid permissions in the Plesk tmp directory:

   • For RHEL-based OSes (CentOS, RHEL, CloudLinux):

     # DIR=”/usr/local/psa/tmp”; chmod 1777 “$DIR” && chown root:root “$DIR”

   • For Debian and Ubuntu OSes:

     # DIR=”/opt/psa/tmp”; chmod 1777 “$DIR” && chown root:root “$DIR”