FTP

Last update: November 19 2024

FTP

Two connections are used for the FTP protocol to work:

• control connection — commands and responses are sent over it, they are text strings;
• data connection.

Object storage uses only passive data transfer mode. The process of connection establishment and data transfer is initiated exclusively from the client side.

Writing to the end of the file is not supported — attempting to do so will return response code 426.

FTP connection is only available for containers in the bullet ru-1.

Connection data⁠

To connect to object storage via FTP is used:

• FTP host;
• port 21.

Authentication is done with an S3 key — Account Owner or User Administrator produces a key to the service user. When connecting via FTP, the fields Access key and Secret key from the key are used as login and password respectively.

Configure FTP⁠

1. Configure access.
2. Connect via FTP.

Set up access⁠

Access can be configured by a user with role Account Owner or User Administrator.

1. Create a service user с a role with access to object storage. If you are using a user with the Object Storage User role, the container must be configured with the access policy.
2. Issue an S3 key to the user.

Connect via FTP⁠

Connect on Windows⁠

Total Commander

1. Open Total Commander.
2. On the menu. Network select Connect to an FTP server.
3. Click Add.
4. On the tab General in the field Connection name enter any name (e.g. Selectel).
5. In the field Server enter FTP host.
6. In the field Account enter the value of the field Access key from S3 key.
7. In the field Password enter the value of the field Secret key from the S3 key.
8. Check the box Passive exchange mode (like a Web browser).
9. Open the tab Extended.
10. In the field File name encoding select UTF-8.
11. Click OK. The profile will be saved.
12. Click Connect.

Midnight Commander

1. Open Midnight Commander.

2. Click F9. The main menu opens.

3. From the Left (for the left panel) or Right (for the right panel) panel menu, select FTP Link.

4. Enter a string in the format [<access_key>]@<ftp_host>. Specify:

   • <access_key> — field value Access key from S3 key;
   • <ftp_host> — FTP host.

5. Click Enter.

6. Enter password — field value Secret key from the S3 key. If all data has been entered correctly, the panel will display the contents of the object storage.

FAR Manager

1. Open FAR Manager.
2. To open the transition menu, press Alt + F1 (for the left panel) or Alt + F2 (for the right panel).
3. From the transition menu, select NetBox.
4. Click Enter.
5. Click Shift + F4. The screen for creating a new connection appears.
6. In the field File Protocol select FTP.
7. In the field Host name enter FTP host.
8. In the field User name enter the value of the field Access key from S3 key.
9. In the field Password enter the value of the field Secret key from the S3 key.
10. Click OK.
11. To connect via FTP, select the created profile and press Enter.

WinSCP

1. Open WinSCP.
2. In the field Transfer Protocol select FTP.
3. Enter the host name — FTP host.
4. Enter the user name — field value Access key from S3 key.
5. Enter password — field value Secret key from the S3 key.
6. Click More.
7. Select a section Wednesday.
8. In the field UTF-8 encoding for file names select On.
9. Click OK → Save.
10. Enter the name of the connection (e.g. Selectel).
11. If you want to save the password, check the checkbox Remember password.
12. Optional: check the checkbox Create a shortcut on the Desktop.
13. Click OK.
14. To connect via FTP, click Sign in.

FileZilla

1. Open FileZilla.
2. On the menu. File select Site Manager.
3. Click New site.
4. On the tab General in the field Host enter FTP host.
5. In the field Input type select Normal.
6. In the field User enter the value of the field Access key from S3 key.
7. In the field Password enter the value of the field Secret key from the S3 key.
8. Open the tab Transmission settings.
9. In the field Transmission mode select Passive.
10. Open the tab Coding.
11. Select an encoding UTF-8 forced.
12. Click OK.
13. On the menu. Transmission select Transmission mode → Binary.
14. On the menu. File select Site Manager.
15. To connect via FTP, select the created site and click Connect.

Windows Explorer

1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Right-click the item This computer and select Connect a network drive.
3. Click Connect to a website where you can store documents and images.
4. Click Next.
5. Select Select another network location.
6. Click Next.
7. Enter the address of the object store — FTP host.
8. Click Next.
9. Uncheck the box Anonymous login.
10. Enter the value of the field as the user name Access key from S3 key.
11. Click Further.
12. Optional: change the name of the connection.
13. Click Done.
14. Enter password — field value Secret key from the S3 key.
15. Check the box Save password.
16. Click Entrance. The connection will be displayed in the list of local and network drives.

Connect on Linux⁠

Nautilus

1. Use Nautilus to open any directory.
2. On the menu. File select Connecting to the server.
3. In the field Server address enter FTP host.
4. Click Connect.
5. Select an item Registered user.
6. Enter login — field value Access key from S3 key.
7. Enter password — field value Secret key from the S3 key.
8. Optional: check the checkbox To remember forever.
9. Click Connect.

FTP operation⁠

Authorization⁠

Team	Arguments	Designation
USER	Access key from S3 key	Pass login
PASS	Secret key from the S3 key	Pass the password

Defense⁠

Team	Arguments	Designation
AUTH	Not required	Establish a secure TLS connection. Arguments will be ignored
PROT	P / C	Set the protection mode. P for Private, C for Clean. By default, P will use TLS
PBSZ	Buffer size	Set the size of the protection buffer. The server will respond with 200 OK

Miscellaneous⁠

Team	Arguments	Designation
FEAT	Not required	Display a list of supported additional functions
SYST	Not required	Display the server operating system
NOOP	Not required	Empty operation, the server will respond with 200 OKs
OPTS	According to RFC2389.	Pass additional options to the server

File access⁠

Team	Arguments	Designation
SIZE	File name	Get file size
STAT	Not required	Get connection statistics
MDTM	Path	Get the date and time of file modification
RETR	File name	Download file. It will work only after switching to passive mode with PASV command. Docking is supported
STOR	File name	Upload a file in passive mode
APPE	File name	Tell the server to accept the remote file. The command will work only if such a file does not exist in the storage yet. If the file exists, an error will be returned
DELE	File name	Delete file
RNFR	File name	Select the file to rename
RNTO	New file name	Set a new file name. Only after the RNFR command has been selected
ALLO	Size in bytes	Return a response about available space. Regardless of the argument, the response will be 202 OK
REST	Offset in bytes	Command to "rewind" to a specific position in the file. Required for downloading with RETR

Working with containers⁠

Team	Arguments	Designation
CWD	Directory name	Go to the specified directory
PWD	Not required	Show the current working directory
CDUP	Not required	Go to the parent directory
NLST	Not required	Return a list of directory files in a shorter format than LIST. Only in passive connection mode
LIST	Path	Output the contents of the current or provided directory. Both relative and absolute paths are supported
MLSD	Path	Output the contents of the current directory. The main difference from LIST is that time stamps are accurate to the second, time is specified in UTC
MKD	Directory name	Create a directory
RMD	Directory name	Delete directory

Establishing a connection⁠

Team	Arguments	Designation
TYPE	A / I	Change the mode of data transmission. There are two options, ASCII(A) or Binary(I). Either argument is ignored, the command is used for backward compatibility. Only Binary mode is supported
PASV	Not required	Switch to passive data transfer mode
EPSV	Not required	Initiate a passive mode data connection. In response, the server will transmit the port number for the connection
EPRT	Protocol version / address / port	Initiate a data connection. The command is exclusive to active data transfer mode, so the server will report to this command that active mode is not supported
PORT	Not required	Switch to active data transfer mode. The command is exclusive to active data transfer mode, so the server will report to this command that active mode is not supported
QUIT	Not required	Disconnect from the server