SFTP and SSH users

SFTP and SSH users connect to servers using the same security protocol, so neither is more or less secure than the other.

SFTP users can connect to a server and edit files using an FTP client like Filezilla or Cyberduck.

SSH users can connect to a server from their preferred terminal. After connecting, they can use tools such as the WordPress command line interface, WP-CLI. In simple terms, SSH users need no special software to connect to a server and have access to a powerful set of commands not available to SFTP users.

The rules of thumb are:

• If you don’t know whether or not you need an SSH user, then you don’t.
• If you need to move files to or from your site using anything other than the built-in WordPress tools– a file that exceeds the file size limit of the WordPress uploader, for example– you will need an SFTP user to do so.
• If you can achieve your goals using the file transfer tools built into WordPress, you don’t need one either.

HEADS UP!

SFTP/SSH users are site-specific, which means users created for Site A cannot access Site B or any other site, including different sites attached to the same member account. Staging sites, for example, require their own SFTP/SSH users even if the production sites from which they are pulled already have existing SFTP/SSH users. Users created for multsite networks can transfer files to and from any subsite of that network, but only sites within that network.

The page includes the SFTP/SSH connection information for the current site and a list of the existing SFTP/SSH users. From this screen members can create and delete users or change the password(s) for existing users.

The information displayed includes:

• Connection Address (Host) – This is the URL used by NonprofitPress to identify your site and is the required URL for SFTP/SSH connections. Many FTP clients refer to the Connection Address as the Host.
• Port number – The port associated with this site.
• Username – The username(s) of both SFTP and SSH users that have been created for this site. If no users have been created, the list will be empty.
• Environment – During creation, SFTP/SSH users are given access to either a production (live) site or a staging site, and that status is displayed here.
• Type – These users are either SFTP or SSH, and that designation is displayed here.
• Path Restriction – The access granted to SFTP/SSH users can be restricted to certain areas of a site’s file structure. This label indicates the type of restriction, if any, has been placed on the user. The label None indicates a user with no restrictions and with access to all site files.
• Connection Info – A convenient link created to simplify the configuration necessary to connect to a WPMU DEV hosted site via SFTP/SSH.
• Edit Password (pencil icon) – Click the pencil icon to access the edit password modal. SFTP/SSH user passwords can be changed as necessary, but user names cannot changed after creation.
• Delete – Click the trash icon to open the delete user modal.

Click the Add User button and choose SFTP User or SSH User from the drop-down menu.

In the modal that appears, enter the username you’d like for this user. Then choose whether you want to use a Password or a Public SSH Key.

For a password, you can either use the strong password that is automatically generated, or enter a custom password.