# How to connect via FTPs Connecting to Couchdrop with a FTP client is simple. To get started, you will need: * A username and password *or* * A username and key * The hostname for your Couchdrop POP. This can be found by clicking **Connect** * A FTP client or platform/software that supports FTP. {% hint style="success" %} Your hostname will look like \**.couchdrop.io** and can be found under **Connect** in the Couchdrop web app. {% endhint %} ## FTP Connection Options FTP has a few options around networking and security. Couchdrop attempts to support as many clients as feasible, but these are the recommendations. | Option | Recommended Value | Description | | -------------------- | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | TLS auto negotiation | ON |

FTP by default is insecure. It is unencrypted and very easy to break. FTPs use an auto negotiation process that occurs during authentication that uses encrypted channels.

We recommended always enabling this option.

| | Port | 20 | Couchdrop uses the default port for FTP access | | Passive Mode | ON | Passive FTP mode forces the client to negotiate data channels with the server. This alleviates most of the issues with NAT and firewalls that do not support active channel negotiation. | | Hostname | \.couchdrop.io | Couchdrop provides a domain name for each tenant. You can find this under **Connect** in the Couchdrop web app |