Choose the actual SQL import or its supported compressed form, such as .sql.gz. A release ZIP may contain previews, recovery scripts and several other documents; it is not necessarily a single database dump. Do not import every file in a package.

Compare the selected file's compressed size with the limit shown on the Import page. An upload limit and the memory or time needed to process the decompressed SQL are different considerations.

1. Sign in to WHM with the required administrator privileges.
2. Open Server Configuration > Tweak Settings > PHP.
3. Review cPanel PHP max upload size and cPanel PHP max POST size.
4. Choose limits appropriate to the intended upload. For example, a 128 MB upload allowance with a 160 MB POST allowance provides request overhead. These are example values, not a requirement for every import.
5. Save, reopen phpMyAdmin and check the maximum displayed on its Import page.

cPanel's guidance identifies these internal settings for phpMyAdmin. Changing only a hosted website's MultiPHP INI settings is not the same adjustment. A separate Max HTTP submission size setting may also need review when it is lower than the intended request; do not make server-wide limits unlimited without a reason.

If the upload succeeds but processing times out or runs out of memory, preserve that new error. Review the relevant execution and memory limits in the administrator configuration or use an approved command-line import method. Do not keep increasing every setting without identifying which limit is actually failing.

Back up the destination database, select it before importing, and follow the SQL package's instructions. If a script depends on one connection, temporary tables and a transaction, do not split it into unrelated browser sessions or resume at an arbitrary query. Keep SQL error stopping enabled.

Do not delete existing tables to solve an upload-size warning. The warning concerns the file transfer, not duplicate database content.

Can I upload the gzip file directly?

phpMyAdmin supports compressed SQL formats including gzip. Use the compressed SQL supplied by the package, not a multi-file archive that happens to have a smaller size.

What should I send us if it still fails?

Include the selected filename, file size, displayed upload limit and exact error. Do not include a cPanel session URL or database credentials in a public message.

• Use command and configuration examples from our knowledgebase safely
• Check why a database content import has not changed the visible page
• Send our support team useful screenshots and logs without exposing secrets

• cPanel: increase phpMyAdmin upload limit
• cPanel internal PHP settings
• phpMyAdmin import and export