If the CakePHP is run in production mode (debug =0), then it is not possible to move the CakePHP to another folder – after the move the site will simply give an error 500. This is since a number of things are cached in CackePHP and if the app is in production mode, then some of the cache is not checked if it needs to be updated.

So if you intend to move a CakePHP directory that is setup as a production environment, then you will need to turn up debug to at least 1 , load the site – then it can be turned back down again.