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File management

SFTP servers

Connect to an SFTP server and browse it in a pane: copy and move files both ways with checked copies, rename, delete to a recycle folder, and the transfer list.

Browse an SFTP server in a pane like a folder on your Mac: open folders, copy and move files both ways, rename, make folders and delete, with every copy checked before anything is removed.

Beta. SFTP servers are new in FileOctopus 1.0.10 and are still a beta. Click Beta next to the title of the Connect to Remote Server form, or at the right of the Server Transfers title bar, and choose Send Feedback… or Discuss on Discord to tell us what works and what doesn’t. Read current limits before you copy or move files that matter.

Connect to an SFTP server

  1. Choose Go → Connect to Server… (⌘K) and type an address such as sftp://user@server.example.com. The Connect to Remote Server form opens with what you typed filled in. You can also choose Go → Connect to Remote Server (Beta)… to open it empty.
  2. Check the server, port (22 unless you change it) and user name. Leave Private key on Automatic to log in the way Terminal’s ssh does: with your keys, ssh-agent and ~/.ssh/config. Click Choose… only to use one particular key file for this server.
  3. Optionally set a Start folder and a Name for the sidebar, then connect.
  4. The first time, FileOctopus shows Trust the Server? with the server’s key fingerprint. Compare it with the one your server administrator gives you, then click Trust and Connect. If a server’s key ever changes, FileOctopus refuses to connect and shows the old and new fingerprints.
  5. If the server asks for a password, type it. Turn on Remember in Keychain to keep it in your Mac’s Keychain for next time; it is saved only after the server accepts it.

The server then appears under Servers in the sidebar. Click it to connect again later. FileOctopus never connects by itself when it opens, unless you turn on Connect when FileOctopus opens for that server.

Browse

A server folder works in List, Icon and Column View. The Location Bar starts with the server’s name; click any part of it to go there. A server’s row in the sidebar is selected while its start folder is shown. Quick Look (Space) downloads a copy of the file first and asks before downloading one over 100 MB. The preview panel shows files under 100 MB by itself and offers Download for larger ones; turn off Show previews of server files in Settings → Advanced to preview only when you ask.

After you quit, a pane that showed a server folder comes back as Not Connected with a Connect button; nothing logs in until you click it or the server in the sidebar.

Copy and move files

Drag items between a server pane and a folder on your Mac, or use Copy and Paste (⌘C, ⌘V), or ⌥⌘V to move. In Column View, Paste goes into the selected folder, as in Finder.

  • Files are written under a temporary name and get their real name only once they are complete, so a cut connection never leaves a half file under the real name.
  • Every copy is checked by size. A move is also read back and compared before its original is removed; turn on Check copies by reading them back in Settings → Advanced to read back every copy.
  • When a name already exists, you choose Keep Both, Replace or Stop. Nothing is replaced without asking.
  • Files downloaded from a server are marked as downloaded from the internet, like files from Safari.

Window → Server Transfers lists the running transfers with one progress bar each (copying and the read-back check together). Pause, resume or stop each one. The list opens by itself for longer transfers and closes when everything is done. If a transfer fails, an alert says why; when part of an upload is already on the server, Try Again continues from where it stopped.

Disconnecting while a transfer runs asks first. Stopping removes the unfinished copy; items not copied yet stay where they were.

Rename, new folders and delete

Rename (Return) and New Folder (⇧⌘N) work as on your Mac. Deleting asks first, for example Move “Old” to the server’s recycle folder?, and moves the items to a folder named .fileoctopus-trash on the server, sorted by date, where you can get them back. On a disk other than your start folder, FileOctopus uses the highest folder on that disk where it can write. Turn off Move deleted items to the server’s recycle folder in a server’s settings to delete for good; the question then says so.

Edit, disconnect and remove a server

Right-click a server in the sidebar for Connect or Disconnect, Edit Connection… and Remove…. Saving changes disconnects the server. Window → Server Log shows what happened on each connection, without passwords or file contents.

Free and PRO. Servers need the trial or PRO. On Free, Connect explains that it is part of FileOctopus PRO and nothing connects. See Free and PRO.

Current limits

  • SFTP only. WebDAV and S3-compatible storage aren’t available in this version.
  • List and Column View show each server file’s kind icon. Icon and Gallery View show thumbnails of small images and PDFs, downloaded as you scroll.
  • Settings in your ~/.ssh/config, such as a jump host, apply as they do in Terminal.
  • Copying between two servers goes through your Mac.
  • To drag server items into Finder or another app, use List or Icon View. From Column View they drag only within FileOctopus.
  • Copies downloaded to open or preview a server file are removed when you quit FileOctopus or disconnect, so they’re downloaded again next time.

See also file operations and feature status and current limits.