---
title: "Why can’t I save changes made to settings.php?"
date: "2025-05-08T07:32:24+00:00"
summary: "Learn how to modify Drupal's settings.php file in Cloud IDE with simple chmod commands for write access and protection."
image:
type: "article"
url: "/acquia-cloud-platform/add-ons/cloud-ide/help/68746-why-cant-i-save-changes-made-settingsphp"
id: "50037867-59d1-46d5-8133-5e566198a7d1"
---

After Drupal is installed, the `settings.php` file gets write-protected. On the Cloud Platform, this is not an issue as the filesystem is read-only. However, in Cloud IDE, as you can edit files, you might run into this issue.

To make Drupal’s `settings.php` writable, run the following command from within the `project` directory:

    ide:~/project $ chmod 644 docroot/sites/[yoursite]/settings.php

Once your changes are made, run the following command to make the file write-protected again:

    ide:~/project $ chmod 444 docroot/sites/[yoursite]/settings.php