Setup Guide

Set up and configure SFTP as a destination in RudderStack.

2 minute read

This guide will help you set up SFTP as a destination in the RudderStack dashboard. It also lists the configuration settings required to correctly send data from the supported sources to your downstream apps via SFTP.

Setup

In your RudderStack dashboard, add a source. Then, from the list of destinations, select SFTP. Then, click Continue.

Connection settings

Setting	Description
Name	Assign a name to uniquely identify your destination in RudderStack.
Host	Enter the host name or IP address of the server without the port number.
Port	Enter the port number of the server.
User name	Enter the user name.
Authentication	Select the authentication mechanism from the dropdown. RudderStack provides the following options: Username + Password Username + SSH key
Password	If you have selected Username + Password, enter the password for the above user.
Private key	If you have selected Username + SSH key, enter the full private key for the user including the header and footer.
File format	Select the file format (CSV or JSON) from the dropdown.
File path	Specify the path name where RudderStack stores the data. For example: `directory/{destinationID}/{jobRunID}/{YYYY}_{MM}_{DD}/file_{timestampInMS}.csv` Note that: The parent directory of the file should already exist. RudderStack supports specifying the date, time, and sync metadata variables within curly brackets (`{}`). `destinationID` and `jobRunID` are required fields. The date and time variables correspond to the upload time.

Specify file path variables

While specifying the file path where RudderStack stores all the data, you can also specify the date, time, and sync metadata variables within curly brackets ({}).

RudderStack supports the following date/time variables:

Variable	Description
`YYYY`	Year in four digits. For example, `2024`.
`MM`	Month in two digits. For example, `05`.
`DD`	Day in two digits. For example, `09`.
`hh`	Hour in two digits (in 24-hour format). For example, `15`.
`mm`	Minutes in two digits. For example, `56`.
`ss`	Seconds in two digits. For example, `13`.
`ms`	Milliseconds in three digits. For example, `460`.
`timestampInSec`	UNIX timestamp in seconds.
`timestampInMS`	UNIX timestamp in milliseconds.

You also need to specify the following sync metadata variables in the path:

Variable	Description
`destinationID` Required	The destination ID.
`jobRunID` Required	Job run ID of a sync.

Some sample paths specified in the File path connection setting are shown below:

directory/{destinationID}/{jobRunID}/file_{timestampInMS}.csv
directory/{destinationID}/file_{jobRunID}_{timestampInMS}.csv

Next steps

Connect Reverse ETL source to SFTP destination

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