Inbound FTP/FTPS

Learn about Inbound FTP and FTPs with Couchdrop

Inbound FTP/FTPS allows external users to connect to your Couchdrop environment using the FTP/S protocol. For inbound connections, Couchdrop acts as an alternative to traditional FTP servers.

Inbound FTP is supported by default in Couchdrop accounts, but you will need to configure FTP users for access.​

Setting up inbound FTP/FTPS

Configuring inbound FTP/FTPS requires these steps:

1

Configure storage

Inbound FTP connections require a storage endpoint. For Couchdrop, this endpoint can be Couchdrop hosted storage, but most users choose to use a directory in any compatible storage integration.

See How storage integrations work for the setup process.

2

Create FTP/S users

In order to interact with your storage via FTP, you must create FTP/S users. Users will be limited to the home directory that you set during FTP user creation.

These users can then use an FTP client to log in to your Couchdrop environment, or you can provide them with permission to use the Couchdrop web portal that can take the place of a traditional client.

See Creating FTP/S users for the setup process.

3

Configure automated FTP transfers (Optional)

You can automate FTP file transfers and file processing with automations. These automations can be triggered on a schedule or when a specific event happens, such as when a file is uploaded or downloaded from the FTP endpoint.

See Automations Overview for more information about automated file transfers.

How to connect via FTP/FTPS

Once you create an endpoint for inbound FTP, connecting to Couchdrop via an FTP client is simple and supported by all major FTP clients.

Before you start

To connect via FTP/FTPs, you will need:

• A username & password OR A username & key
• The hostname for your Couchdrop POP.
• An FTP client or platform/software that supports FTP.

These details will need to be entered into the FTP client in the appropriate fields.

Your hostname will look like <my domain>.couchdrop.io and can be found at the top of the dashboard in the Couchdrop web app.

Recommended connection settings for FTP clients

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	<yourdomain>.couchdrop.io	Couchdrop provides a domain name for each tenant. You can find this under at the top of the dashboard in the Couchdrop web app.