dark

sftp-server – Server Program for SFTP Protocol

The sftp-server command in Linux is used to start an SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) server. It is a server program that provides secure file transfer capabilities to the clients via the SFTP protocol. The SFTP protocol is a secure alternative to FTP (File Transfer Protocol), which uses SSH (Secure Shell) as a secure transport layer. The sftp-server command is typically used in conjunction with an SSH server to provide secure file transfer capabilities to remote clients.

Overview

The sftp-server command is usually invoked by an SSH server when a client requests an SFTP session. The SSH server starts the sftp-server process, which then handles the SFTP session. The sftp-server command can be used with various options to customize its behavior.

Here’s the basic syntax of the sftp-server command:

sftp-server [options]

Here are some examples of how to use the sftp-server command:

  1. To start an SFTP server with default options:
sftp-server
  1. To start an SFTP server with a specific log file:
sftp-server -l /var/log/sftp.log
  1. To start an SFTP server with a specific subsystem name:
sftp-server -e -f subsystem
  1. To start an SFTP server with chroot enabled:
sftp-server -d /home -e

Options

Here are the available options for the sftp-server command:

Option Description
-h Display help message.
-d path Specifies the chroot directory.
-e Forces the use of the internal-sftp subsystem.
-f Specifies the subsystem name.
-l path Specifies the path to the log file.
-P Disables the use of POSIX rename function.
-R Disables the use of hard links.
-u Disables the use of utime function.
-v Display verbose debugging messages.
-V Display version information.

Troubleshooting Tips

Here are some tips for troubleshooting common issues with the sftp-server command:

  1. If you’re unable to connect to the SFTP server, make sure that the SSH server is running and that the necessary ports are open in the firewall.
  2. If you’re unable to transfer files, make sure that the user has the necessary permissions to read and write files in the specified directories.
  3. If you’re experiencing slow transfer speeds, try enabling compression by using the -C option.
  4. If you’re experiencing issues with chroot, make sure that the chroot directory is set up correctly and that the necessary libraries and binaries are available inside the chroot environment.

Notes

Here are some additional notes about the sftp-server command:

  • The sftp-server command is typically included with the OpenSSH package in most Linux distributions.
  • The sftp-server command is designed to be used with the internal-sftp subsystem provided by the OpenSSH server.
  • The sftp-server command can be used to provide secure file transfer capabilities to remote clients over the SFTP protocol.

Related commands