How do I connect via SFTP with WinSCP or FileZilla?

SFTP gives you direct access to all files on your game server. That is useful when you want to upload or download many files at once, such as a complete world, a modpack or a backup. In this article you will learn where to find your SFTP details in the panel and how to connect with WinSCP or FileZilla.

Finding your SFTP details in the panel

1. Log in to the panel at panel.mc-node.net.
2. Open the server you want to connect to.
3. Go to Settings and look under the SFTP Details heading.
4. Here you will see the Server Address (address and port) and your Username.

Note: the address starts with sftp:// and contains a port number. This port number is not the default SFTP port 22, nor the port players use to connect. The password is the same as the password you use to log in to the panel.

Connecting with WinSCP

1. Open WinSCP; the Login window appears.
2. Under File protocol, choose SFTP.
3. Under Host name, enter the server address, without the sftp:// prefix.
4. Under Port number, enter the port number from the panel.
5. Under User name, enter your username, and under Password, your panel password.
6. Click Login. If you are asked about the host key, click Yes to trust it.

Connecting with FileZilla

1. Open FileZilla.
2. In the Quickconnect bar at the top, fill in the following: under Host the address including sftp://, under Username your username, under Password your panel password and under Port the port number from the panel.
3. Click Quickconnect and, if prompted, confirm the host key with OK.

Uploading and downloading files

After connecting you will see two panes: your own computer on the left and your server on the right. Moving files is easy:

• Uploading: drag files from the left (your computer) to the right (the server), or double-click them.
• Downloading: drag files from right to left.
• For large files such as world folders, it is best to compress them into a .zip first; that is faster and more reliable.

Thanks to the NVMe storage of our servers, even larger transfers usually finish quickly.

Common errors

• Connection refused or timeout: you are probably using port 22 or the game port. Always use the port number shown under Settings > SFTP Details.
• Authentication failed: the SFTP password is your panel password, not the password of your client account or your game account. Forgot it? Reset your panel password and try again.
• Wrong username: copy the full username from the panel; it also contains a server-specific part after the dot.

Still can't connect despite following these steps? Open a support ticket and we will take a look with you.