SFTP Files
Browse, transfer, and manage files on your servers — including server-to-server copies and on-device editing.
Every machine gets a full SFTP file browser. Open it from the machine's
actions; it starts in the machine's Default SFTP Path (set in the machine
editor, / by default).
Working with files
The browser covers day-to-day file work:
- New File and New Directory.
- Upload File/Folder from the system file picker — whole folders included.
- Per item: Download, Rename, Delete (with a clear confirmation — deleting a folder removes everything inside it), and Copy to….
- File details show size, dates, and POSIX permissions.
Running SFTP sessions appear in the sidebar and as Live Activities on iPhone.
Server-to-server transfer
Copy to… moves files between two servers without touching your device:
- Open SFTP sessions on both machines.
- Use Copy to… on a file or folder, pick the destination Session and directory, and confirm.
The data streams from one server to the other through SwiftServer. This works on the free plan.
Preview and edit
- Quick Look previews images, PDFs, text, and most common formats right in the app.
- Text files open in a proper editor — monospaced, with
⌘Sto save on the Mac and an unsaved-changes prompt so nothing is lost by accident.
Preview and editing are part of Premium.
SFTP settings
Settings → SFTP has its own Keep Session Alive toggle and Alive Interval (5–60 seconds, default 10), independent from the terminal's. On iPhone and iPad, View SFTP Downloads in Files opens your downloads in the Files app, and Manage Quick Look Caches clears space used by previews.
If a session drops
SFTP sessions carry the same diagnostics as every SwiftServer connection: the disconnect dialog links the Event Log and SSH Diagnostics so you can see exactly what happened before reconnecting.