Folders & Permissions

An SFTP client presents the files and folders available to the connected user. The user's folder permissions determine which operations they can perform. Root and home folder settings control the paths the client presents; they do not grant access.

Root and Home Folders

Per-user folder settings control what a user sees as the root of the file system and where their SFTP session starts.

Each user account has two relevant settings: FTP/SFTP Client Root Folder and FTP/SFTP Client Default Home Folder.

Client Root Folder

The FTP/SFTP Client Root Folder defines a virtual root folder for the user, which they see as the top of the folder tree during an SFTP session. Use this setting when you want to prevent the user from navigating to parent folders above a particular folder.

This setting only takes effect on SFTP connections when the site-wide SFTP Client Root Folders setting is enabled. If that setting is not enabled, the Client Root Folder is ignored during SFTP sessions.

The same path also defines the user's view across every other protocol when the user's File System Layout is set to User Root; in that case, the path is presented in the user's account as their User Root rather than as their FTP/SFTP Client Root Folder.

If the folder at this path is deleted, the user account continues to reference the missing path. When this path is the user's effective root, the next SFTP login recreates it as a new empty folder. The deleted contents and folder permissions assigned directly to the deleted folder are not restored. Grant any required permissions on the new folder, or change the root folder setting to an existing folder.

Client Default Home Folder

The FTP/SFTP Client Default Home Folder sets the folder the SFTP session starts in. Use this setting when users always interact with a specific subfolder, so the SFTP client does not need to navigate there after connecting.

If the Client Root Folder is set, the Client Default Home Folder must be inside it.

Scope of These Settings

Neither setting grants access to a user. Users must still hold folder permissions on anything they need to read or write.

For users whose File System Layout is not User Root, these settings only affect what the user sees when connecting via FTP or SFTP. Through the web interface, the Desktop or Mobile App, the CLI application, and the API, the user still sees the folders allowed by their layout and folder permissions.

For users whose File System Layout is User Root, the Client Root Folder path also defines the user's view across every other protocol. The Client Default Home Folder remains FTP- and SFTP-specific.

Unix Permission Compatibility

For compatibility with clients on Unix and Linux systems, Files.com displays POSIX permission values. These values do not represent the connected user's actual permissions.

The server reports files as 0666 or -rw-rw-rw-, and folders as 0777 or drwxrwxrwx. The displayed values remain the same regardless of the user's access. To determine what the user can actually read or change, check their folder permissions and any permission fences on the target folders.

Missing Upload Folders

By default, an SFTP upload to a folder that does not exist fails. Create the destination folder before uploading, or ask a Site Administrator to enable automatic creation of missing parent folders.

The setting is part of the site's FTP service settings and applies to both FTP and SFTP uploads. Automatic folder creation explains its configuration and the tradeoff: a client can upload to a new folder without creating it first, but a misspelled destination can also create an unintended folder instead of producing an error.