If Coppermine Photo Gallery cannot create thumbnails or intermediate-sized images, the issue is usually that the image processing library (GD or ImageMagick) is not configured correctly, or the albums directory does not have write permissions.
Check permissions on the albums directory
The albums directory (and its subdirectories edit, thumb, userpics) must be writable by the web server. Set them to 755. On Ultra Web Hosting, PHP runs as your user, so 755 is sufficient.
01. Check Directory Permissions
- Open cPanel File Manager
- Navigate to your Coppermine installation directory
- Right-click the
albumsfolder > Change Permissions - Set to 755
- Repeat for subdirectories:
albums/edit,albums/thumb,albums/userpics
Via SSH:
chmod -R 755 ~/public_html/coppermine/albums02. Configure the Image Library
In Coppermine's admin panel, go to Config > General Settings > Thumbnail settings and check the image processing method:
- GD2 - PHP's built-in image library. Available on all Ultra Web Hosting servers. Select "GD2" if you are unsure.
- ImageMagick - More powerful, handles larger images better. Path on our servers:
/usr/bin/convert. See Path to ImageMagick.
If GD2 is selected but not working, try switching to ImageMagick (or vice versa) and test again.
03. PHP Memory Limit
Large images require significant memory for thumbnail generation. If your PHP memory limit is too low, the process fails silently. Increase it via cPanel > Software > MultiPHP INI Editor:
- Set
memory_limitto at least256M - Set
upload_max_filesizeto handle your largest images
See Changing Maximum Upload Size for details.
Coppermine has not seen active development in some time. If you are setting up a new photo gallery, consider WordPress with a gallery plugin (NextGEN Gallery, Envira Gallery) or a dedicated solution like Piwigo, which is actively maintained and available via Softaculous in cPanel.
Gallery Still Not Working?
If thumbnails still are not generating after checking permissions and the image library, open a ticket.
Open a Support TicketQuick Recap
- Set albums directory to 755 including subdirectories
- Check image library setting - Try GD2 or ImageMagick (/usr/bin/convert)
- Increase PHP memory_limit to at least 256M for large images
- Consider modern alternatives like WordPress galleries or Piwigo
- Do not use 777 permissions - 755 is correct on our servers
Photo gallery troubleshooting · Last updated March 2026 · Browse all PHP Scripts articles
