SFTP Component

Read, write, move and delete files on an SFTP server

Component key: sftp

Description

SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) is a secure file transfer protocol that operates over SSH. The SFTP component allows uploading, downloading, moving, and deleting files on an SFTP server.

A common integration pattern involves listing files in a file store, and performing a series of actions on the array of files that are returned. See our looping over files quickstart for information about how to create a loop over an array of files.

Connections

Basic Authentication

key: basic

The Basic Authentication connection is used to connect to SFTP servers that support username / password login.

Prerequisites

An SFTP server with username/password authentication enabled
Valid credentials (username and password)

Configure the Connection

Username: Enter the SFTP account username
Password: Enter the SFTP account password
Host: Enter the SFTP server hostname or IP address
Port: Enter the SFTP server port (default: 22)

Advanced Settings (Optional)

Timeout: Connection timeout in milliseconds (default: 3000)
Enable Unsecure Server Host Key Algorithms: Enable deprecated host key algorithms for legacy servers
Enable Unsecure Ciphers: Enable CBC ciphers for legacy servers
Custom Server Host Key Algorithms: Comma-separated list of custom host key algorithms (overrides defaults)
Custom Ciphers: Comma-separated list of custom ciphers (overrides defaults)

Consult the SFTP server administrator to determine which login method the server supports.

On-prem enabled: this connection can be configured to connect to an on-prem resource on a private network. Learn more.

Input	Notes	Example
Custom Ciphers	A comma-separated list of custom ciphers. Overrides the default ciphers. Cipher order matters. Advanced setting.	aes128-ctr, aes192-ctr, aes256-ctr
Custom Server Host Key Algorithms	A comma-separated list of custom server host key algorithms. Overrides the default server host key algorithms. Algorithm order matters. Advanced setting.	ssh-rsa, ssh-dss
Enable Unsecure Ciphers	When true, CBC ciphers will be added to the connection.	false
Enable Unsecure Server Host Key Algorithms	When true, unsecure server host key algorithms will be added to the connection.	false
Host	The address of the SFTP server. This should be either an IP address or hostname.	sftp.example.com
Password	The password for SFTP authentication.	p@s$W0Rd
Port	The port of the SFTP server.	2222
Timeout	How long the client will await a request.	4000
Username	The username for SFTP authentication.	john.doe

Private Key

key: privateKey

The Private Key connection allows access to an SFTP server via SSH public/private key authentication.

Prerequisites

An SFTP server with public key authentication enabled
A generated public/private SSH key pair
The public key must be stored on the SFTP server

Setup Steps

Generate a public/private SSH key pair if not already available
Copy the public key to the SFTP server (usually to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys)
Verify the key is properly configured with the SFTP server administrator

Configure the Connection

Username: Enter the SFTP account username
Private Key: Enter the complete private key (including headers and footers)
Key Passphrase: Enter the passphrase for the private key (if applicable)
Password: Enter the password if the server requires both private key and password authentication (uncommon)
Host: Enter the SFTP server hostname or IP address
Port: Enter the SFTP server port (default: 22)

Advanced Settings (Optional)

Timeout: Connection timeout in milliseconds (default: 3000)
Enable Unsecure Server Host Key Algorithms: Enable deprecated host key algorithms for legacy servers
Enable Unsecure Ciphers: Enable CBC ciphers for legacy servers
Custom Server Host Key Algorithms: Comma-separated list of custom host key algorithms (overrides defaults)
Custom Ciphers: Comma-separated list of custom ciphers (overrides defaults)

Authentication is performed using the username and corresponding private key.

On-prem enabled: this connection can be configured to connect to an on-prem resource on a private network. Learn more.

Input	Notes	Example
Custom Ciphers	A comma-separated list of custom ciphers. Overrides the default ciphers. Cipher order matters. Advanced setting.	aes128-ctr, aes192-ctr, aes256-ctr
Custom Server Host Key Algorithms	A comma-separated list of custom server host key algorithms. Overrides the default server host key algorithms. Algorithm order matters. Advanced setting.	ssh-rsa, ssh-dss
Enable Unsecure Ciphers	When true, CBC ciphers will be added to the connection.	false
Enable Unsecure Server Host Key Algorithms	When true, unsecure server host key algorithms will be added to the connection.	false
Host	The address of the SFTP server. This should be either an IP address or hostname.	sftp.example.com
Key Passphrase	The passphrase for the private key. Leave blank if none.	p@s$PHr@$3
Password	Though uncommon, some SFTP servers that use private keys may also require a password. Leave blank if none.	p@s$W0Rd
Port	The port of the SFTP server.	2222
Private Key	The SSH private key for authentication.	-----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY----- abc123...
Timeout	How long the client will await a request.	4000
Username	The username for SFTP authentication.	john.doe

Triggers

New or Modified Files

Checks for new and modified files in a directory on an SFTP server on a configured schedule. | key: newOrModifiedFiles

Input	Notes	Example
Connection	The SFTP connection to use.
Include Subdirectories	When true, recursively monitors files in all subdirectories. When false, only monitors files in the specified directory.	false
Path	The path of the directory on the SFTP server to list files from.	/path/to/directory/
Pattern	The glob-style pattern for filtering files (e.g., *.txt).	*.txt

This trigger polls an SFTP server for new and modified files in a specified directory on a configured schedule.

The trigger detects:

New files: Files that did not exist during the previous poll
Modified files: Files whose size or modification timestamp changed since the previous poll

How It Works

The trigger runs on the configured schedule (e.g., every 5 minutes)
It connects to the SFTP server and lists all files in the configured directory
Each file's path, size, and modification timestamp are recorded
The current file list is compared against the previous poll's state
Files not present in the previous state are reported as new
Files whose size or modification timestamp differ from the previous state are reported as modified
The trigger updates its state with the current file map for the next poll

If no new or modified files are detected, the trigger reports no changes and the flow does not execute.

Configuration

Configure the following inputs:

Connection: The SFTP server connection credentials
Path: The directory path on the SFTP server to monitor (e.g., /uploads/incoming/)
Pattern: A glob-style pattern to filter files (e.g., *.csv, *.txt). Defaults to * (all files)
Include Subdirectories: When enabled, the trigger recursively scans subdirectories within the specified path. Defaults to false

Returned Data

Example Payload

{
  "data": {
    "newFiles": [
      {
        "path": "/uploads/incoming/report-2026-02-11.csv",
        "size": 24576,
        "modifiedAt": 1739308800000
      }
    ],
    "modifiedFiles": [
      {
        "path": "/uploads/incoming/daily-log.txt",
        "size": 102400,
        "modifiedAt": 1739312400000
      }
    ]
  }
}

Each file entry includes:

path: The full path to the file on the SFTP server
size: The file size in bytes
modifiedAt: The file's last modification timestamp (Unix milliseconds)

Notes

The trigger tracks changes using file size and modification timestamp. If a file is replaced with content of the same size and timestamp, the change will not be detected.
Enabling Include Subdirectories on directories with many nested files may increase polling time and SFTP server load.
The trigger does not detect deleted files. It only reports files that are new or have changed.
On the first poll, all files matching the pattern are reported as new since there is no previous state.

Actions

Append File

Append data to an existing file on a SFTP server. | key: appendFile

Input	Notes	Example
Connection	The SFTP connection to use.
Data	The text or data to append to the file.
Path	The path on the SFTP server where data will be appended.	/path/to/remote/file.txt

{
  "data": "Appended data to /upload/path/to/file.txt"
}

Create Directory

Create a new directory. When Include Subfolders is enabled, recursively creates any missing directories in the path. | key: createDirectory

Input	Notes	Example
Connection	The SFTP connection to use.
Path	The path of the directory on the SFTP server to list files from.	/path/to/directory/
Include Subfolders	When true, recursively creates any missing directories in the path.	true

{
  "data": "/path/to/new/directory/"
}

Delete File

Delete a file from a SFTP server | key: deleteFile

Input	Notes	Example
Connection	The SFTP connection to use.
Path	Path of file to delete	/path/to/file.txt

{
  "data": null
}

Fast Get

Read a file from SFTP | key: fastGet

Input	Notes	Example
Connection	The SFTP connection to use.
Path	Path of file on SFTP server to read data from	/path/to/file.txt
Return Buffer	When true, treats the file as a binary file with content type 'application/octet-stream', even if it is a text file. This is helpful if you are processing non-UTF-8 text files, as the runner assumes text files are UTF-8.	false

{
  "data": {
    "type": "Buffer",
    "data": [
      83,
      97,
      109,
      112,
      108,
      101,
      32,
      102,
      105,
      108,
      101,
      32,
      99,
      111,
      110,
      116,
      101,
      110,
      116,
      115
    ]
  },
  "contentType": "text/plain"
}

List Directory

List files and directories in a directory on an SFTP server. Optionally list files in subdirectories. | key: listDirectory

Input	Notes	Example
Connection	The SFTP connection to use.
Include Directories	When true, lists directories in addition to files. When false, only lists files.	false
Include Subdirectories	When true, recursively monitors files in all subdirectories. When false, only monitors files in the specified directory.	false
Path	The path of the directory on the SFTP server to list files from.	/path/to/directory/
Pattern	The glob-style pattern for filtering files (e.g., *.txt).	*.txt

{
  "data": [
    "folder1/file.txt",
    "folder1/subfolder/example.txt",
    "root.txt"
  ]
}

Move File

Move a file on an SFTP server | key: moveFile

Input	Notes	Example
Connection	The SFTP connection to use.
Destination Path	Path of file to move	/my/destination/path.txt
Source Path	Path of file to move	/my/starting/path.txt

{
  "data": null
}

Read File

Read a file from SFTP | key: readFile

Input	Notes	Example
Connection	The SFTP connection to use.
Path	Path of file on SFTP server to read data from	/path/to/file.txt
Return Buffer	When true, treats the file as a binary file with content type 'application/octet-stream', even if it is a text file. This is helpful if you are processing non-UTF-8 text files, as the runner assumes text files are UTF-8.	false

{
  "data": "Sample file contents",
  "contentType": "text/plain"
}

Stat File

Pull statistics about a file | key: statFile

Input	Notes	Example
Connection	The SFTP connection to use.
Path	Path of file on SFTP server to read data from	/path/to/file.txt

{
  "data": {
    "mode": 33279,
    "uid": 1000,
    "gid": 985,
    "size": 5,
    "accessTime": 1566868566000,
    "modifyTime": 1566868566000,
    "isDirectory": false,
    "isFile": true,
    "isBlockDevice": false,
    "isCharacterDevice": false,
    "isSymbolicLink": false,
    "isFIFO": false,
    "isSocket": false
  }
}

Write File

Write a file to SFTP | key: writeFile

Input	Notes	Example
Connection	The SFTP connection to use.
Data	The text or data to write into the file.
Path	The path to the file on the SFTP server.	/we/love/commas.csv

{
  "data": "Uploaded data stream to /upload/path/to/file.txt"
}

Changelog

2026-02-24

Added New or Modified Files polling trigger that detects new and modified files in a directory on a configured schedule

Read, write, move and delete files on an SFTP server

Description​

Connections​

Basic Authentication​

Prerequisites​

Configure the Connection​

Advanced Settings (Optional)​

Private Key​

Prerequisites​

Setup Steps​

Configure the Connection​

Advanced Settings (Optional)​

Triggers​

New or Modified Files​

How It Works​

Configuration​

Returned Data​

Notes​

Actions​

Append File​

Create Directory​

Delete File​

Fast Get​

List Directory​

Move File​

Read File​

Stat File​

Write File​

Changelog​

2026-02-24​

Description

Connections

Basic Authentication

Prerequisites

Configure the Connection

Advanced Settings (Optional)

Private Key

Prerequisites

Setup Steps

Configure the Connection

Advanced Settings (Optional)

Triggers

New or Modified Files

How It Works

Configuration

Returned Data

Notes

Actions

Append File

Create Directory

Delete File

Fast Get

List Directory

Move File

Read File

Stat File

Write File

Changelog

2026-02-24