--- title: "How to use SFTP to transfer files" description: "There are various options to transfer files between a local device and a remote host. To ensure the security of the transfer operation, using a client software" url: https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/dedicated-servers/transfer-data-via-sftp lang: en --- > For AI agents: the complete documentation index is available at https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/llms.txt, the full documentation bundle is available at https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/llms-full.txt. # How to use SFTP to transfer files There are various options to transfer files between a local device and a remote host. To ensure the security of the transfer operation, using a client software capable of the Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) is recommended for most use cases. **Warning:** **NOTE:** OVHcloud provides services for which you are responsible for their configuration and management. You are therefore responsible for their proper functioning.\ \ This tutorial is designed to help you as much as possible with common tasks. If you are having difficulty performing these actions, please contact a specialized service provider. OVHcloud cannot provide you with technical support in this regard.   ## Requirements - A [dedicated server](https://us.ovhcloud.com/bare-metal/) or [VPS](https://us.ovhcloud.com/vps/) in your OVHcloud account with a GNU/Linux distribution installed - An FTP client that supports SFTP connections (this tutorial uses [FileZilla](https://filezilla-project.org/)) installed on your local device - Administrative access via SSH to your server   ## Instructions You will need the IP address of your server, which you can find in the [OVHcloud Control Panel](https://manager.us.ovhcloud.com/), and the name of the user account to use for the SSH connection. Consult our "Getting started" guides if you require further details on this topic: - [Dedicated server](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/dedicated-servers/getting-started-dedicated-server-windows-linux.md) - [Dedicated server of the **Eco** product line](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/dedicated-servers/getting-started-with-dedicated-server-eco.md) - [VPS](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/vps/starting-with-a-vps.md) The following examples are based on [FileZilla](https://filezilla-project.org/). Refer to the user guide of your application if you are using a different FTP client. The process may require additional steps if your server is booted into **rescue mode**. Open the relevant section below according to the state of your server.   ### How to log on to a server via SFTP client In the FileZilla client interface, enter your server's IP address into the `Host` field and your username and password into their respective fields. Enter "22" into the field `Port`, unless you have modified the connection port your server's SSH service is listening on. Click on the button `Quickconnect`. **Warning:** **NOTE:** To access folders belonging to the `root` user account of your OS, you have to use the credentials of the `root` user to establish the SFTP connection. This account does not have a password by default. If you are certain that you need to access files of the `root` user via SFTP, learn how to enable this connection in our [user account guide](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/dedicated-servers/configure-user-accounts-root-access-server.md).   ### How to log on to a server in rescue mode via SFTP client If you have not already carried out the necessary actions to access your files in rescue mode, use the relevant guide to connect to your server and mount your partitions: - [Dedicated server rescue mode](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/dedicated-servers/rescue-mode.md) - [VPS rescue mode](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/vps/recover-rescue-mode.md) In the FileZilla client interface, enter your server's IP address into the `Host` field and "22" into the `Port` field. Enter "root" into the `Username` field and the password that was sent to you via email for rescue mode access into the `Password` field. Click on the button `Quickconnect`. The server's file system will be located in the directory you have defined as the mount point in rescue mode ("/mnt" in this example).   ### Using FileZilla to retrieve and upload your data Once the remote connection is established, a tree-view of your server's files will be displayed in the `Remote Site` section. The middle section of the FileZilla interface acts as a file explorer. You can select multiple files or folders, delete them, drag and drop them from one side to the other, etc. Since the usage details might be different, depending on the software version and your local operating system, refer to the [FileZilla](https://filezilla-project.org/) user guide for details. For example, to retrieve files located in the folder "/home/data" of the server, open this folder in the right-hand pane (`Remote Site`). Select the files or folders to download and drag them to the left-hand pane (`Local Site`) into a folder on your local device. The progress of the data transfer will then be displayed in the transfer queue section at the bottom.   ## Go further [SSH introduction](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/dedicated-servers/ssh-introduction.md) [How to configure user accounts and root access on a server](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/dedicated-servers/configure-user-accounts-root-access-server.md) Browse all the [Dedicated Servers guides](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/dedicated-servers/landing-page-dedicated-servers.md). Browse the rest of the [OVHcloud US documentation](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/index.md) for guides on our other products and services. Learn more about [Dedicated Servers](https://us.ovhcloud.com/bare-metal/) on the OVHcloud US website.