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SFTP

File transfer over SSH: list, get, put, rename, and delete files on any SFTP server per the IETF secsh-filexfer draft.

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About

SFTP is the SSH File Transfer Protocol: file operations carried as the sftp subsystem over an SSH connection, which supplies encryption, server authentication, and integrity (RFC 4253) and user authentication (RFC 4252). Version 3, described in draft-ietf-secsh-filexfer-02, is the version most servers speak. Banks, carriers, suppliers, and payroll providers exchange files this way.

Through Fibric, an operator polls the directories you name, reads new files, and proposes what to do with their contents and with the files themselves: post, rename, or remove. After your approval the transfer happens once, never twice, and leaves a receipt: what changed, why, and how to undo it.

This is a reference listing. It documents what Fibric would read from SFTP and what it could propose, based on the vendor's published interfaces. Fibric builds it under a managed deployment when you request it; selecting it here installs nothing.

Inputs

  • Directory listings through SSH_FXP_OPENDIR and SSH_FXP_READDIR, with each entry's attributes
  • File attributes through SSH_FXP_STAT, SSH_FXP_LSTAT, and SSH_FXP_FSTAT: size, permissions, and modification time
  • File contents through SSH_FXP_OPEN with SSH_FXF_READ, then SSH_FXP_READ requests by offset and length
  • Arrival of new files, by comparing listings and modification times between polls
  • Status codes such as SSH_FX_NO_SUCH_FILE and SSH_FX_PERMISSION_DENIED, so a missing drop is told apart from a denied one

Proposed actions

  • Target capability: propose writing a file through SSH_FXP_OPEN with SSH_FXF_WRITE and SSH_FXF_CREAT, then SSH_FXP_WRITE
  • Target capability: propose a rename through SSH_FXP_RENAME, for example moving a processed file into an archive directory
  • Target capability: propose removing a file through SSH_FXP_REMOVE once it has been consumed
  • Target capability: propose creating a directory through SSH_FXP_MKDIR

Proposed actions are target capabilities. Every action runs propose-first and needs a validated deployment and the appropriate permissions.

What you can build

  • Know when a feed is late

    The operator polls a drop directory and compares modification times with the expected schedule. When a file is late or short, it proposes an alert naming the path and the last good arrival.

    With Data Freshness

  • Bank statements to the ledger

    Statement files land on the bank's SFTP server. The operator reads each new file, matches lines against your ledger, and proposes the entries to post. Once approved, it proposes a rename into an archive directory.

    With Bank Reconciliation

  • Carrier invoices as files

    Carriers post invoice files to a shared directory. The operator reads them, compares charges with shipment records, and proposes disputes for lines that do not agree.

    With Freight Audit

  • Supplier documents for the match

    Purchase orders, receipts, and invoices exported as files are read from their directories and matched. The operator proposes which invoices to approve and which to hold.

    With Three-Way Match

Requirements

  • An SSH server that offers the sftp subsystem, reachable on its port (22 by default) from Fibric's egress address
  • A user account with a private key or password, and directory permissions for the paths involved
  • The server's host key, recorded in advance so the connection can refuse an unknown key
  • Agreed file naming and a done-marker or rename convention, since the protocol has no notification mechanism
Authentication
SSH user authentication per RFC 4252: publickey, which every implementation must support, or password where the server allows it, with the server's host key checked against a known value.

Limits

  • SFTP has no push notifications; new files are found by polling directory listings
  • This listing follows protocol version 3, the version in draft-ietf-secsh-filexfer-02; later drafts add requests that servers may not offer
  • Version 3 defines no lock request; a file can be read while a sender is still writing it unless a naming convention prevents that
  • Every read and write is a separate SSH_FXP_READ or SSH_FXP_WRITE request with an offset and length, so throughput depends on round-trip time

Access and pricing

Reference listing. Fibric builds the connector under a managed deployment when you request it. Your quote covers the build, capabilities, usage, and support.

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Questions and answers

Is SFTP the same as FTPS or SCP?
No. SFTP is a file transfer protocol run as the sftp subsystem over an SSH connection, described in draft-ietf-secsh-filexfer-02 as protocol version 3. FTPS is FTP over TLS, and SCP is a different SSH command. This listing covers SFTP only.
How does the connector authenticate?
Through SSH user authentication (RFC 4252). Public-key authentication is the one method every implementation must support; password and host-based methods are optional. The server's host key is checked before any file operation, because accepting an unknown key leaves the session open to active attacks.
Can the connector be told when a file arrives?
Not by the protocol. Version 3 defines requests such as SSH_FXP_READDIR and SSH_FXP_STAT but no notification. The connector polls listings on a schedule and recognizes new files by name and modification time, or by a done-marker your sender writes.
Ask about SFTP

Ask about the capabilities and requirements in this listing.

For project-specific requirements, contact Fibric.

This connector listing is developed, published, and supported by Fibric. It describes integration with SFTP through published interfaces. Third-party names and logos identify the systems an integration connects to; they are the property of their respective owners, who are not affiliated with Fibric and do not sponsor or endorse this listing. Trademark policy