SFTP on Macintosh Computers
Summary: Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) is a file transfer program which runs over an ssh tunnel and uses many features of SSH, including compression and encryption. Essentially, SFTP is a drop-in replacement for the standard command-line FTP client, but with ssh authentication.
SFTP Clients
There is a variety of SFTP clients for Mac OS X. Fetch is a commercial product that has been a standard for many years. UCI has an educational license that makes it available for free to UCI constituents. You may also use one of the free, open-source clients like Fugu or Cyberduck. The directions below are written for Fetch, but the basics features are the same for the other clients.
File Transfer
When you copy a file from a remote computer (host) to your Macintosh you are downloading (getting) a file. When you copy a file from your Mac to a remote host you are uploading (or putting) a file to the host.
New Connection
When you launch Fetch, a New Connection window will appear. (Figure
1).
- In the New Connection window, type in the host name (such as
'ea.uci.edu').
- In the Username field, type in your username (UCInetID if you are connecting to EA)
- In the Password field, type in your account password. (Your UCInetID password if you are connecting to EA)
- Select SFTP from the drop down menu. (This will encrypt your login and password.)
- Click the Connect button.
Figure 1
Getting or Downloading Files
- Now that you've successfully connected to the remote host, you are ready to
transfer files.
- Navigate to the folder you want to Get files from.
(Figure 2)
- Click on the file or folder to select it.
- Click the Get button in the top toolbar.
- Fetch will download the file to your Downloads folder.
Figure 2
Put or Uploading a File
- Click the Put icon in the Fetch toolbar. (See Figure 3)
Figure 3
- Use the dialog box and navigate to the file you want to upload or Put.
- Click the Put button. Fetch will upload your file to the server.
