cPanel Troubleshooting Beginner

Error logs in cPanel: find PHP and website errors

Use cPanel Metrics and file-based logs to find PHP fatal errors, missing files, permission problems, and broken scripts causing 500 errors or blank pages.

UnderHost NOC Network Operations

7 min read Updated June 2026

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Where to find logs
Metrics Errors tool
File-based error logs
Read an error line
If logs are empty

Error logs are the fastest way to diagnose 500 errors, blank pages, broken PHP scripts, missing files, and permission problems. Check them before guessing which plugin, theme, or file caused the issue.

Where to find logs

Log or tool	Location	Use it for
Recent errors	Metrics then Errors	Recent Apache and PHP errors for the account.
Raw access logs	Metrics then Raw Access	Exact requests, IPs, status codes, and user agents.
Application logs	Application folder, such as WordPress debug logs	CMS-specific or framework-specific errors.
Domain error files	File Manager, often under account or domain log paths	Longer or domain-specific error history when available.

Use the Metrics Errors tool

Log in to cPanel.
Open Metrics and choose Errors.
Review the most recent error lines.
Match the timestamp to when the issue happened.

Common entries include PHP Fatal error, PHP Parse error, Permission denied, File does not exist, and memory limit errors.

File-based error logs

Some applications write their own logs. For example, WordPress can write to wp-content/debug.log when debugging is enabled. Some cPanel environments also expose domain-specific error logs in account log folders or near the affected document root.

Use File Manager or FTP/SFTP to inspect these files if the Metrics Errors screen does not show enough detail.

Read an error line

[05-Jun-2026 14:22:05 UTC] PHP Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function example_func() in /home/user/public_html/wp-content/plugins/example/plugin.php:142

This tells you the time, error type, missing function, file path, and line number. In this example, the likely issue is inside a WordPress plugin file at line 142.

If logs are empty

Reproduce the error, then refresh the log page.
Check the correct domain and document root.
Enable PHP logging with MultiPHP INI Editor: set log_errors = On and keep display_errors = Off on production sites.
Check application-level logs if the CMS or framework catches errors before the server logs them.
Open a support ticket with the URL, timestamp, and any error line you found.