SFTP

DreamHost supports SFTP (SSH FTP)

 * SSH File Transfer Protocol is a network protocol designed by the IETF to provide secure file transfer and manipulation facilities over the secure shell (SSH) protocol.


 * SFTP is NOT just FTP run over SSH, but rather a new protocol designed from the ground up. It is often called Secure FTP because it uses an encrypted transport layer.

NOTE: SFTP may also refer to Simple File Transfer Protocol, an unsecured and rarely-used file transfer protocol from the early days of the Internet. This is NOT what we provide.

NOTE: SFTP is not the same as FTPS! FTPS is traditional FTP, encrypted using SSL. Dreamhost does NOT support FTPS.

Requirements and Setup
To use SFTP, the user account you want to access must be configured with the proper account type. You can do this in the control panel under (USERS > MANAGE USERS) then clicking on the "Edit" link for the user account in question.

Then select either of these "User Account Type:" options.


 * "Shell account - allows FTP plus ssh/telnet/sftp access."
 * "SFTP account - sftp (SSH ftp) file transfer access only."

Please see Enabling Shell Access for full instructions on how to do this.

NOTE: "FTP" type accounts can NOT be accessed using the SFTP protocol!"

NOTE: If you have just changed your user account it will take the system a short period of time to push the change to the live server! So please be patient. I'd recommend waiting at least 15 minutes before trying to access this account using SFTP if you have just changed its configuration.

NOTE: If you configure your account as a Shell account you can disallow FTP access if you like by checking that option.

Connection Settings
Use the same connection settings as you would for SSH!


 * Server: yourdomain.com (The one you want to transfer files to ie: your actual domain name OR servername.dreamhost.com )
 * Server type/protocol: SFTP (Using SSH2)
 * Port: 22
 * Login type: Normal (username/password)
 * User: Username (From (USERS > MANAGE USERS) section in the our control panel)
 * Password: Your Password from above

You should now be able to log in and transfer files just like you would with FTP, but now it's secure.

SFTP Clients
Here are some links to more information regarding SFTP client software packages that we've found to work accessing our servers. Please note that you may need to modify the default connection parameters when using some of these client software packages.
 * FileZilla For: Windows, Mac & Linux. (Allows you to preserve original file timestamps) freeware
 * NEW! >> FileZilla Setup tutorial <<
 * WinSCP For: Windows. (Allows you to preserve original file timestamps) freeware
 * NEW! >> WinSCP Setup tutorial <<
 * psftp For: Windows. (PsFTP comes with the excellent putty ssh client. It's somewhat annoying to use) freeware
 * Macromedia/Adobe Dreamweaver built-in SFTP — For: Windows & Mac (tested on Macromedia Dreamweaver 8.0.2 for Windows, but should work on any but the very earliest versions — simply check the “Use Secure FTP (SFTP)” checkbox on either or both of Remote and Testing Server in the Site Definition (in the Advanced tab in more recent versions) as needed, and make sure that the “Host directory” is set properly [never use “/” alone — leave it empty if you want to access the user’s home directory]!)
 * CyberDuck For: Mac. (Open Source SFTP client) freeware
 * ExpanDrive For: Windows or Mac. (Mount SFTP as a drive)
 * Transmit For: Mac.
 * FireFTP For: Firefox web browser

Incompatibility
As new versions of the SFTP protocol or OpenSSH libraries are released, DreamHost may need to upgrade for security reasons. If your client is all of a sudden unable to complete the handshake when connecting, you will need to upgrade your client as well. You can determine the version in use at DreamHost by simply telnet to port 22 at ftp.[yourdomain] and noting the banner.