APIs & Integrations

FTP

Structr includes a built-in FTP server that provides file access to the virtual filesystem. Users can connect with any FTP client and browse, upload, or download files according to their permissions.

Configuration

Enable and configure the FTP server in the Configuration Interface or in structr.conf:

Setting	Description	Default
`application.ftp.enabled`	Enable FTP server	`false`
`application.ftp.port`	FTP port	`8021`

Authentication

FTP authentication uses Structr user accounts with password authentication. Users log in with their Structr username and password.

# Connect with lftp
lftp -p 8021 -u username localhost

# Connect with standard ftp client
ftp localhost 8021

File Visibility

After authentication, the FTP connection shows files and folders based on the user’s permissions in Structr’s virtual filesystem.

Regular users see:
- Files and folders they have read access to
- File owners only for nodes they have read rights on
- Files are hidden if their parent folder is not accessible

Admin users see:
- All files and folders in the system
- All file owners

Example: Regular User

$ lftp -p 8021 -u user1 localhost
Password: *****
lftp user1@localhost:~> ls
drwx------   1              0 Jun 30 15:22 testFolder
-rw-------   1 user1      347 Jun 30 09:24 test1.txt
-rw-------   1             25 Jun 30 15:41 test2.txt
-rw-------   1              5 Jun 30 09:24 test3.txt
-rw-------   1 user1        5 Jun 30 09:24 test4.txt

Files without visible owner (test2.txt, test3.txt) belong to users that user1 cannot see.

Example: Admin User

$ lftp -p 8021 -u admin localhost
Password: *****
lftp admin@localhost:~> ls
drwx------   1 admin        0 Jun 30 15:22 testFolder
-rw-------   1 user1      347 Jun 30 09:24 test1.txt
-rw-------   1 admin       25 Jun 30 09:24 test2.txt
-rw-------   1 user2        5 Jun 30 09:24 test3.txt
-rw-------   1 user1        5 Jun 30 09:24 test4.txt

Admin users see all files and their owners.

Supported Operations

The FTP server supports standard file operations:

Operation	Description
`ls` / `dir`	List files and folders
`cd`	Change directory
`get`	Download file
`put`	Upload file
`mkdir`	Create directory
`rm`	Delete file
`rmdir`	Delete directory

All operations respect Structr’s permission system. Users can only perform operations they have rights for.

Use Cases

FTP access is useful for:

Bulk file transfers - Upload or download many files at once
Automated backups - Script file retrieval from Structr
Legacy integration - Connect systems that only support FTP
Direct file management - Use familiar FTP clients instead of the web interface

Security Considerations

FTP transmits credentials in plain text. Consider using FTPS or restricting access to trusted networks.
The FTP server binds to all interfaces by default. Use firewall rules to limit access if needed.
File permissions in FTP mirror Structr’s security model - users cannot access files they don’t have rights to.