{"id":7,"date":"2026-09-05T18:25:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T18:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hostcrafter.com\/kb\/connecting-over-sftp\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T17:36:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T12:06:33","slug":"file-manager-and-sftp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hostcrafter.com\/kb\/file-manager-and-sftp\/","title":{"rendered":"File Manager and SFTP: Two Ways Into Your Files"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two ways into your files, and both are complete. The file manager<\/strong> runs in the panel and handles everything from a one-line edit to rebuilding a folder structure, with nothing to install. SFTP<\/strong> connects the client or editor you already use, if you would rather work in your own tools.<\/p>\n

Use either. Use both. They see the same files.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
File manager<\/dt>\n
In the panel, nothing to install<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n
\n
SFTP<\/dt>\n
Any SFTP client, port 22<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Encryption<\/dt>\n
Always on, both ways in<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Where<\/dt>\n
Panel → File Manager, or SFTP<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n<\/dl>\n

The File Manager<\/h2>\n

Open your hosting account and choose File Manager<\/strong>, then Open File Manager<\/strong>. It opens in a new tab, already signed in.<\/p>\n

\"The
The File Manager section, and where each website’s files live.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What it does<\/h3>\n

Everything you would expect of a desktop file client, in the browser:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Browse and search<\/strong><\/td>\nMove through your whole account, and search for a file by name from wherever you are.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Edit in place<\/strong><\/td>\nOpen a file, change it, save it. No download, no re-upload.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Upload and download<\/strong><\/td>\nSingle files or whole folders.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zip and unzip<\/strong><\/td>\nCompress a folder to move it, or unpack a theme or plugin archive straight into place.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Copy, move and rename<\/strong><\/td>\nReorganise without a round trip through your computer.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New files and folders<\/strong><\/td>\nCreate them where you need them.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Permissions<\/strong><\/td>\nSet the read and write bits on a file or folder when something needs it.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Delete<\/strong><\/td>\nFiles and folders, with the usual care.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

Unzipping is worth calling out, because it is the thing that saves the most time: a 40 MB theme archive uploads once as a single file and unpacks on the server in seconds, where the same theme sent file by file over a connection from your house takes minutes and can fail halfway.<\/p>\n

Always open it from the panel.<\/b> The link signs you in and is single-use, so a saved copy of it will not work later. That is what lets it open without a password to type or store. <\/div>\n

Where things are<\/h3>\n
\n\n\n
public_html<\/code><\/td>\nEverything your main website serves. WordPress lives directly in here.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
domains\/<\/code><\/td>\nOne folder per additional website, named after its domain.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

So a theme on your second site is at domains\/yourshop.com\/public_html\/wp-content\/themes\/<\/code>, and on your main site at public_html\/wp-content\/themes\/<\/code>.<\/p>\n

SFTP<\/h2>\n

If you already work in an SFTP client or an editor that saves to the server, connect it. Choose SFTP<\/strong> in the panel; everything your client asks for is on that one screen.<\/p>\n

\"The
The SFTP screen. Every field a client asks for, with a note on the two people get wrong.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
    \n
  1. \n

    Set a password first<\/h3>\n

    Press Set SFTP Password<\/strong>. No SFTP password exists until you choose one, so a first attempt to connect before this will be refused.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Put the details into your client<\/h3>\n

    Protocol SFTP<\/strong>, the host and username shown on the screen, port 22<\/strong>, and the password you just set.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Leave the remote folder empty, or set it to \/<\/code><\/h3>\n

    You start inside your own account, so a full path like \/home\/sites\/something<\/code> is not where you are. Some clients treat a starting folder they cannot find as a fatal error, which is the “connects and then immediately disconnects” case.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If it will not connect<\/h3>\n

    Press Check my connection<\/strong>. It asks the server itself whether everything this account needs is in place, and tells you which part is not, which is faster than working backwards from an SFTP client’s error message.<\/p>\n

    Everything here is encrypted<\/h2>\n

    Both ways in are encrypted end to end: the file manager over HTTPS, SFTP over SSH. There is no plain FTP on these servers, because plain FTP sends your password across the internet in the clear and anyone between you and us can read it.<\/p>\n

    If your client is set to FTP<\/strong> or FTP over TLS<\/strong> it will not connect. Set it to SFTP<\/strong>, which every client below supports, on port 22.<\/p>\n

    SFTP clients we like<\/h2>\n

    macOS<\/h3>\n