# Inbound SFTP

Couchdrop acts as an SFTP server out of the box and supports thousands of users in a single tenant and  Petabytes of data through our cloud storage integrations. 

## Introduction to SFTP

Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) is a secure and reliable method of transferring files between systems over a network. Unlike traditional FTP, which sends data in plain text, SFTP encrypts both authentication credentials and file data using the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. This ensures that sensitive information remains protected during transit.

## SFTP in Couchdrop

Couchdrop gives you SFTP without the servers. In minutes, you can spin up secure, cloud-hosted SFTP endpoints that connect directly to your existing storage like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or S3. Your partners still use SFTP exactly as they always have — but you get cloud-native flexibility, enterprise-grade security, and zero infrastructure to manage. It’s the simplest way to modernize SFTP

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## Getting Started with Couchdrop

Inbound SFTP is enabled by default in Couchdrop accounts - but you will need to configure SFTP users for access.&#x20;

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Creating SFTP Users in Couchdrop</strong><br>Learn about creating external Inbound SFTP users in Couchdrop. </td><td><a href="inbound-sftp/create-sftp-users">create-sftp-users</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Connect to Storage</strong><br>Learn about connecting cloud storage to Couchdrop and using it for Inbound SFTP users. </td><td><a href="../connections/connect-storage">connect-storage</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Connecting with SFTP</strong><br>Learn how to connect to Couchdrop via SFTP. </td><td><a href="inbound-sftp/how-to-connect-via-sftp">how-to-connect-via-sftp</a></td></tr></tbody></table>