Connecting over SFTP

What you need#

SFTP lets you move files to and from your server using a desktop file client instead of the web file manager. It is the easier route when you have a lot to transfer at once, such as a modpack, a world folder, or a backup you want to pull down to your computer. The web file manager is fine for quick edits, but for bulk work a real SFTP client is faster and more reliable.

You only need two things to get started. The first is an SFTP client installed on your computer, such as FileZilla or WinSCP on Windows, or Cyberduck on macOS. The second is your connection details, which the panel shows for you in the SFTP Details box. The next section walks through where to find them.

Finding your connection details#

Open your server in the panel and go to the Settings tab. Toward the bottom you will see a box titled "SFTP Details" with everything you need to sign in. Both the Server Address and the Username are shown as values you can click to copy.

The box gives you two values:

• Server Address, shown in the form sftp://your-server-ip:port. This is the host and port your client connects to. Some clients want the host and port in separate fields, in which case you drop the sftp:// prefix and split the value at the colon.
• Username, shown in the form username.serverid. This is your Pyro username followed by a dot and a numeric server ID. The whole thing has to go in your client's username field, suffix included, or the login will fail. Copy the value straight from the Username field rather than typing it by hand. The number here is not the longer Server ID shown in the Debug Information box, so let the panel fill it in for you.

The panel does not show an SFTP password. You sign in with your Pyro account password, the same one you use to log into the panel itself. The box says as much: Your SFTP password is the same as the password you use to access this panel.

Launching from the panel#

If your operating system already has a default SFTP application set up, the quickest way to connect is the "Launch SFTP" button inside the SFTP Details box. It opens an sftp:// link with your username, server address, and port already filled in, and hands it to your default client. You will still be asked for your password. If nothing happens when you click it, your computer probably has no SFTP handler registered, so set up a client and connect by hand using the steps below.

Connecting with a client#

Connecting by hand is the same in any client, only the field names differ. Open your SFTP client and create a new connection, then fill in the details from the panel.

1. Set the protocol to SFTP, not plain FTP.
2. Enter the host and port from the Server Address value. If the address reads sftp://203.0.113.10:2022, the host is 203.0.113.10 and the port is 2022.
3. Enter your username in the username.serverid form, including the dot and server ID.
4. Enter your Pyro account password.
5. Connect.

Once you connect you land in your server's root directory, ready to browse and transfer files. If you would rather paste a single address into a client's quickconnect bar, most accept this combined form:

sftp://username.serverid@your-server-ip:port

Two-factor and SSH keys#

SFTP signs in with your account password, so any two-factor prompt you have set up for the panel does not appear in the file client. If you would rather use key-based access than type a password, you can add SSH keys to your account. See SSH keys for how to add and manage them.