Connect with SFTP

SFTP is how you put files on FiniteHost: your website, WordPress, images, and the code for your Python apps. It is like FTP, but everything, including your password, travels encrypted. Any SFTP app works. This guide sets up the three most popular free ones and the command line.

FiniteHost offers SFTP only. Plain FTP is not available, and there is no SSH shell: the connection opens straight into your files and nothing else.

Before you start#

• You need an active web hosting or Python compute plan. Mail-only plans have no file storage.
• SFTP works while your plan is Active, and during the 7-day grace period after it ends. While a plan is suspended, SFTP sign-in stops until you renew.
• Install one SFTP app: FileZilla (Windows, macOS, Linux), WinSCP (Windows) or Cyberduck (Windows, macOS). All three are free.

Your connection details#

Open the panel and go to Data & files → Files (SFTP). The Connection card shows everything you need, each with a copy button.

Create your SFTP password#

1. Open Files (SFTP) in the panel sidebar under Data & files.
2. Click Create SFTP password at the top right of the page.
3. Copy the password from the dialog. It is 20 characters long and is shown only once.
4. Click I have copied it to close the dialog. The Password row now shows set.
5. Wait about a minute before you connect. The storage server picks up the new password on its next sync.

If you lose the password, click New SFTP password and confirm. The old password stops working at once, so update it in every SFTP app you use. You can also sign in with an SSH key instead of a password: see Sign in with an SSH key.

What every SFTP app asks for#

Every SFTP app asks for the same five things, even though each lays out its window differently. This diagram shows where our values go.

Connect with FileZilla#

1. Open FileZilla and choose File → Site Manager.
2. Click New site and name it, for example Acme on FiniteHost.
3. Set Protocol to SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol.
4. Enter the Host sftp.finitehost.com and the Port 2222.
5. Set Logon Type to Normal, then enter your User (your subscription ID) and Password.
6. Click Connect. On the first connection FileZilla shows the server's host key: tick Always trust this host and click OK.

Your files appear in the right-hand pane. Drag files from your computer (left) to the server (right) to upload them.

Connect with WinSCP#

1. Open WinSCP. The Login window appears.
2. Choose New Site, then set File protocol to SFTP.
3. Enter the Host name sftp.finitehost.com and the Port number 2222.
4. Enter the User name (your subscription ID) and the Password.
5. Click Save, give the site a name, then click Login.
6. Accept the host key when WinSCP asks about an unknown server, by clicking Accept.

WinSCP shows your computer on the left and your FiniteHost files on the right.

Connect with Cyberduck#

1. Open Cyberduck and click Open Connection.
2. Choose SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) from the drop-down at the top.
3. Enter the Server sftp.finitehost.com and set Port to 2222.
4. Enter the Username (your subscription ID) and the Password.
5. Click Connect, and allow the unknown host key the first time.

To save the connection for later, choose Bookmark → New Bookmark while connected.

Connect from the command line#

Windows 10 and 11, macOS and Linux all include the sftp command. The Files (SFTP) page shows the exact command for your account with a copy button.

sftp -P 2222 t3d2ca2b860@sftp.finitehost.com

Note the capital -P for the port. Type yes to trust the host key the first time, then enter your password. Useful commands:

ls                          # list files
cd acme.in/public           # change folder
put index.html              # upload one file
put -r assets               # upload a folder
get backup.sql              # download a file
exit                        # close the connection

Where your files go#

You start inside /sites. Each website has its own folder, and its web root is the public folder inside it:

• /sites/acme.in/public is what visitors see at https://acme.in.
• /apps/price-bot holds the code of a Python app called price-bot.

Changes go live as soon as the upload finishes. For the full map, read Folder layout.

Troubleshooting#

• Connection refused or timed out: check that the port is 2222 and the protocol is SFTP, not FTP or FTPS.
• Authentication failed: user names are your subscription ID, not your email address. If you just made the password, wait a minute. If it still fails, make a new one with New SFTP password.
• Locked out after several tries: six wrong passwords within 10 minutes block your IP address for one hour. Wait, then try again with the right password.
• Permission denied when uploading: you cannot write in the very top folder (/). Upload into /sites/<domain>/public or /apps/<app>.
• Plan suspended: SFTP sign-in stops while a plan is suspended. Renew under Billing & plans.

More fixes are in SFTP will not connect.

What's next#

• Sign in with an SSH key instead of a password.
• Upload your website into the right folder.
• Install WordPress step by step.
• Folder layout: what each folder is for.