.mo file location

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
You are testing an updated website design and using WPML, but encountering an issue where WPML String Translation is attempting to write .mo files to an incorrect folder path: /var/www/html/wp-content/languages. You need to know the correct location for the language folder and how to change the path where WPML writes .mo files.
Solution:
First, verify the current path to your /wp-content/languages folder and ensure that this folder has the necessary permissions. We recommend setting the permissions as described in our documentation. If you're experiencing issues with WPML not being able to write MO files for String Translation, please refer to our FAQ on this topic at https://wpml.org/faq/cannot-write-mo-files/.

If this solution does not resolve your issue or seems irrelevant due to being outdated or not applicable to your case, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If further assistance is needed, please open a new support ticket at our support forum.

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Tagged: Documentation request

This topic contains 3 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by jacobS-16 2 months, 1 week ago.

Assisted by: Andrey.

Author	Posts
May 15, 2025 at 6:10 pm #17038418
jacobS-16	Background of the issue: We are testing an updated website design and have the sign on our server. We are using WPML and encountering an issue with .mo file locations. WPML String Translation is attempting to write .mo files with translations to the folder: /var/www/html/wp-content/languages. However, the language folder is not in that location, and /var/www/html is not the path where the site is located. I cannot find where this particular path is coming from. Symptoms: WPML String Translation is attempting to write .mo files to an incorrect folder path: /var/www/html/wp-content/languages. Questions: Where is the correct location for the language folder? How can I change the path where WPML writes .mo files?
May 15, 2025 at 9:49 pm #17038858
Andrey WPML Supporter since 06/2013 Languages: English (English ) Russian (Русский ) Timezone: Europe/Kyiv (GMT+03:00)	Thank you for contacting WPML support. You may be experiencing the issue below. The article explaining why WPML cannot write MO files for String Translation: https://wpml.org/faq/cannot-write-mo-files/
May 16, 2025 at 6:38 pm #17043138
jacobS-16	I read this article already. The error message says that I cannot wrote to the .mo files in this folder: /var/www/html/wp-content/languages We are not using this file location. /var/www/html/ is not the file path to the WordPress site. I could give permissions to that folder but that would not make sense since the website is not there.
May 16, 2025 at 8:08 pm #17043375
Andrey WPML Supporter since 06/2013 Languages: English (English ) Russian (Русский ) Timezone: Europe/Kyiv (GMT+03:00)	Thank you for your feedback. What is the current path to the /wp-content/languages folder? Does the languages folder have the necessary permissions set? I suggest you set the permissions to that folder (as the article states) and check if the issue persists.
May 22, 2025 at 3:52 pm #17062897
jacobS-16	Updating the permissions to the correct language folder did resolve the issue. I would really suggest changing the error message because that is very confusing when it is referencing an incorrect filepath.