Using FileZilla to upload files via SFTP(SSH) or FTPS(SSL/TLS)

Updated 1 week ago by Ben Oates

FileZilla is a popular open-source File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client with versions for Windows, Mac OSX and many desktop distributions of Linux.

You can use an FTP client to upload or download files from your web hosting server e.g. to upload your website's files, or to place a cpmove file in your hosting root directory for restoration. We have a separate guide on understanding FTP, your default FTP account and creating additional FTP accounts.

To download FileZilla, visit the FileZilla project website and download the appropriate version for your system.

This guide covers setting up FileZilla for FTPS (Explicit SSL/TLS) connections and SFTP (SSH connections). If you have set up SSH keys on either your Windows or Mac computer then FileZilla can also use them to log in.

FTPS (SSL/TLS)

1. Open FileZilla and select Site Manager from the File menu.

   

2. The Site Manager is where you can configure and save profiles for each of your websites.
   Click the New Site button and type in a name for your new Site. Don't worry if you make a mistake, you can always change it later. In the example below, we added a Site called My Krystal Account.

   

   Then, on the General Tab enter:
   Host - Your server's hostname or domain name
   Port - 21
   Protocol - FTP - File Transfer Protocol.
   Encryption - Require explicit FTP over TLS
   Logon Type - Normal
   User - your cPanel username
   Password - your cPanel password
   Now click the Transfer Settings tab

   

   Select the Passive Transfer Mode radio button
   Tick the Limit number of simultaneous connections checkbox
   Set the Maximum number of connections to 10
   Finally, click OK.
3. The first time you connect you'll see an Unknown certificate prompt. Check carefully that the Subject of certificate - Common Name matches the server you are connecting to - click OK to confirm. You will only be prompted to confirm this certificate the first time you connect to a server.
   If you are connecting with your domain name rather than home server name you may also need to tick the Always trust this certificate in future session checkbox.

   

SFTP (Secure SHell / SSH FTP)

1. Open FileZilla and select Site Manager from the File menu.

   

2. The Site Manager is where you can configure and save profiles for each of your websites.
   Click the New Site button and type in a name for your new Site. Don't worry if you make a mistake, you can always change it later. In the example below, we added a Site called My Krystal Account.

   

   Then, on the General Tab enter:
   Host - Your Home Server name or domain name
   Port - 722
   Protocol - SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol. Port 722 is an SSH port, so SFTP is required here - choosing FTP will not connect. SFTP is also the safer choice: unlike FTP, all usernames, passwords and data are encrypted.
   Logon Type - Normal
   User - your cPanel username
   Password - your cPanel password
   Now click the Advanced tab

   

   Default local directory - Browse to where you keep the website files for this project. FileZilla will automatically show you this directory when it connects to your site.
   Default remote directory - for your primary domain this is /home/<username>/public_html/ (replacing <username> with your cPanel username). Addon domains and subdomains are different - each has its own folder directly under /home/<username>/, named after the domain, rather than sitting inside public_html. Uploading an addon domain's files into public_html will look like a failed upload, because nothing will serve them.
   Now click the Transfer Settings tab

   

   Tick the Limit number of simultaneous connections checkbox
   Set the Maximum number of connections to 10
   Finally, click OK.
   
   Ignore the Transfer mode options here. Default, Active and Passive apply to FTP and FTPS only, because FTP opens a second, separate data connection and those modes decide which end starts it. SFTP sends everything over the one SSH connection, so there is nothing to negotiate.

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