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FTP Clients

    There are a number of freeware/shareware utilities available for OS X:

    Which one is best? Here are some reference threads to read:
    Best FTP Program
    [X] Good, free ftp program?
    What do you recomend for FTP
    Whats a good FTP program for OSX

    Additionally you can use Terminal (found in /Applications/Utilities/) to do basic command line FTP.
    Type ftp at the prompt to get started.

    After typing ftp, it should look like this:

    ftp>

    Type open 'ftp site' it will connect and prompt for a username, then password. ed.note: If you're not aware of it, the usual username/password for anonymous login is: username=anonymous; password=your email address
    Once you are logged in, the fun begins. Commands are similar to UNIX, type help or here are a few I will share with you.

    ls list files in directory
    cd dir change directory to dir
    pwd tells you your CWD (Current Working Directory)
    get file Downloads file from server
    send file Uploads file to server
    close Terminate your session.

    Some commands can be abbreviated, like you can type 'o' instead of open...
    FTP has a small help system of its own. At the "ftp>" prompt, type "help" or "?" for a list of the commands. If you type "? command_name" it will provide a brief description of the command.


FTP Servers

    You can turn on a basic FTP server in OS X by simply going to the "Sharing" pane in System Preferences. Once it's turned on, users can log in with any valid username/password on your local machine.

    If you need more advanced FTP server features, check out PureFTPd Manager for OS X.


Feedback received on this FAQ entry:
  • PureFTPd Manager comes with a flawed version of the Pureftpd, to upgrade that use the MacPorts to install Pureftpd than install the PureFTPd Manager which will use the newer version.

    2012-01-20 22:49:29 (Da Geek Kid See Profile)



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by rjackson See Profile
last modified: 2005-03-21 19:10:26