Simple Hosting: sFTP using the FireFTP extension for Firefox

If you're a Firefox user, you may be pleased to know that there is a simple, free extension called FireFTP that allows you to open an sFTP client directly by clicking on an sFTP link.

Once the extension is installed, connecting to your instance is easy. Just click on the Login link next to sFTP, under the Access heading of your instance management panel.

A new tab will open in your browser showing the directory tree of your instance. On the left, you will see your local files (on your own computer) and on the right, your remote files (on your instance).

To create a new directory on your instance, you just need to navigate to the intended parent directory, then right-click and choose the option “Create Directory” from the context menu. (The keyboard shortcut CTRL+D has the same effect.)

The permissions system forms the basis of UNIX filesystems and is common in the IT world. In our tutorials, we show you what permissions to give a file in numeric representation (aka octal notation). If you want to know more about permissions, this is a good place to start.

To modify the permissions of a file or of a directory (not its contents), just select it in the window, right-click and select Properties from the context menu (or use the shortcut CTRL+P):

To modify the permissions of a directory and its content, select the directory, right-click and select Properties (incl. contents):

Next, you need to edit the rights assigned to the file/directory by entering the binary value corresponding to your choice in the Manual field:

IMPORTANT: In FireFTP, be sure to include a 0 at the beginning (you must have 4 digits).