SFTP or Secure File Transfer Protocol (also known as SSH file transfer protocol), is a network protocol used for file transfers. It is a more secure method vs standard FTP (understand the difference between FTP and SFTP). We only support SFTP connections at Kinsta to ensure your data remains safe and encrypted. Follow the directions below on how to use SFTP to connect to your WordPress site.

how to use sftp

How to Use SFTP to Connect to Your WordPress Site

The first thing you will need is an SFTP client. There are many free and premium ones to choose from, we recommend one of the following:

You will then need to configure your SFTP client with the following settings:

  • Connection type: SFTP (not regular FTP)
  • Address/URL/Hostname: Use your IPv4 Address.
  • Username
  • Password
  • Port

Your web host should supply the information above. Typically, this is located in your dashboard or in an email sent by your provider. Kinsta customers can find connection details for the primary SFTP/SSH user for a site and for any additional users they have created in the MyKinsta dashboard by navigating to Sites > sitename > Info and scrolling down to the SFTP/SSH section:

A screenshot of SFTP/SSH information in the MyKinsta dashboard.
SFTP/SSH connection details in the MyKinsta dashboard.

How to Use SFTP Clients – Examples

Here are a couple examples of what using each SFTP client looks like.

SFTP Login With FileZilla Client

Filezilla SFTP login.
Filezilla SFTP login.

Some versions of Filezilla will default to FTP, so ensure that you select SFTP or type sftp://123.123.12.123. If you don’t you might see the following error.

cannot establish ftp connection
Use SFTP not FTP

SFTP Login With WinSCP Client

how to use sftp winscp client
SFTP with WinSCP client

SFTP Login With FlashFXP Client

how to use sftp flashfxp client
SFTP with FlashFXP
Mark Gavalda Kinsta

Mark has many years of experience leading teams in the fields of marketing, web design and development. As a dev guy he used his WP expertise to collect the know-hows of creating a reliable and customer friendly hosting company to satisfy the increasing demand of clients. He is an urban cyclist and autodidact who never stops learning new skills.