How to use an FTP client: connect to a server, upload and download files
An FTP client is the program on your PC that talks to a file server: it logs in, shows you the server's folders next to your own, and moves files between them. This page walks through the whole job with FTPShell Client, from the details you need before you start to the first upload, and it applies equally to plain FTP, FTPS and SFTP servers. The tutorials show the same steps with screenshots.
What you need before you connect
Four things from whoever runs the server or the hosting account: the server address (a host name such as ftp.example.com or an IP address), the protocol (FTP, FTPS or SFTP; most hosts now say SFTP), the login name and password, and, if it is not the default, the port: 21 for FTP and FTPS explicit, 22 for SFTP, 990 for FTPS implicit. If your host gave you an ftp:// link with the login inside it, you can paste that instead.
Step 1: open a session and connect
Choose File > New FTP session, New SFTP session, New FTPS Explicit session or New FTPS Implicit session; the port is filled in. Type the address, login and password in the quick-connect bar at the top of the tab and press Enter. The log turns green on a successful login and the remote pane shows the server's folder. If the listing fails, FTPShell tries the other transfer mode once by itself; the connection problems page covers the rest. Add to favorites saves the site so the next connection is one click.
Step 2: find the right folder on both sides
The remote pane is the server, the local pane your PC. Each has a folder tree and an editable path box: type a path and press Enter, or double-click folders. For a website, the server folder is usually public_html, htdocs or www; your host's welcome e-mail says which. Each saved site remembers its last remote and local folders.
Step 3: upload files or a whole website
Select the files or folders in the local pane and choose Upload, or drag them to the transfer queue. Folders upload with all their subfolders. Start Queue begins the transfer; the status bar shows bytes, percent, speed and time remaining, and a summary is written to the log when the batch finishes. If a file already exists on the server, your upload rules decide whether to skip, overwrite, resume or rename it. To publish only what changed, use Compare/Synchronize instead of re-uploading everything (Professional and Enterprise); see the sync page.
Step 4: download files from a server
Select items in the remote pane and choose Download. Downloads keep the server's modification dates, recreate folder structures, and resume from the break if the connection drops. For servers you cannot browse easily, remote search (Professional and Enterprise) finds files by name pattern across every subfolder and sends the matches to the queue.
Step 5: edit a file on the server without the round trip
Remote > Direct edit opens a server file in the FTPShell Editor; Save uploads it straight back. Change permissions sets Unix permissions by checkboxes or a CHMOD number on FTP and FTPS, which is what a host means by "set the file to 644".
Uploading a WordPress theme or plugin by FTP
Connect to the host, open wp-content/themes or wp-content/plugins on the server, and upload the unzipped theme or plugin folder from your PC. Keep the folder name as it came. If the host asks for "FTP credentials" inside WordPress itself, those are the same address, login and password you use in FTPShell.
Questions people ask
How do I connect to an FTP server on Windows?
Install an FTP client, open a new session, enter the server address, login and password, and press Enter. FTPShell Client's free Personal edition does this for FTP, FTPS and SFTP on Windows Vista through 11.
How do I upload files to my website using FTP?
Connect to your host's server, open the site folder on the server (often public_html), select the files on your PC and choose Upload. Use Compare/Synchronize to upload only what changed on later visits.
What is the difference between FTP and SFTP when connecting?
FTP sends everything in clear text on port 21; SFTP runs inside SSH on port 22 and encrypts everything. If your host offers SFTP, use it. See SFTP vs FTPS vs FTP.
Why does my upload stop part-way?
Network drops, idle timeouts and server limits all interrupt transfers. FTPShell resumes partial files from the break, retries a failed queue run and reconnects automatically, and sends keep-alive commands so idle FTP sessions are not dropped.
Can I use an FTP client with Windows Explorer instead?
File Explorer can open ftp:// addresses, but without SFTP, FTPS, resume or a queue. The FTP in Windows Explorer page shows what it can and cannot do.
How to configure, set up, setup or create an FTP client connection on Windows 10 and 11: settings, configuration and port
Open a new session of the right type, type the server address, login and password, change the port only if your host gave you one other than 21, 22 or 990, and press Enter. That is the whole configuration for most servers. Session options hold the rest when you need it: passive or active mode, keep-alive, speed limits, transfer type and duplicate-file rules, saved per site in your favorites.
How to transfer files between two computers, or between computers with FTP
One of the two computers runs an FTP or SFTP server and the other runs the client. On a home or office network, install FTPShell Server on the PC that holds the files, free in its Personal edition, create an account, and connect to it from FTPShell Client on the other PC using the first PC's address. Across the internet the same works once the server's port is reachable, or both PCs talk to a third server that each can reach.
How to access an FTP site, get to an FTP site, or access FTP for WordPress
To get to an FTP site you need its address, protocol, login and password; open a session in FTPShell, enter them, press Enter, and the site's folders appear in the upper pane. For WordPress, the FTP or SFTP details are in your hosting control panel, and FTP access for WordPress means connecting to the folder that holds wp-content, usually under public_html, where themes, plugins and uploads live.
How to test, check or testing an FTP connection and connection commands
Connect and read the log. A successful test shows the server's greeting, the login reply in green, and a directory listing; the connection commands you will see are USER and PASS for the login, PASV or PORT to set up the data connection, and LIST for the listing. A login that works but no listing means a data-connection problem; the connection problems page takes it from there.
Why is an FTP client helpful, and what are FTP clients used for?
An FTP client is helpful because servers do not come with a window you can drag files into. It shows your files and the server's side by side, moves them in either direction with resume and retries, keeps your sites and logins, and in FTPShell's case also syncs folders, searches, edits in place and runs on a schedule. FTP clients are used for publishing websites, collecting logs and backups, exchanging files with partners, and managing files on servers you cannot reach any other way.
How to download a file from an FTP URL, or with the FTP GET command, and FTP binary mode
Paste the ftp:// URL into FTPShell, or copy it with clipboard monitoring on, and a session opens on the file's folder; select the file and choose Download. GET is the command-line name for the same thing, RETR on the wire; in the ftpshellc console type get filename. Binary mode transfers the bytes unchanged and is right for everything except plain text files on servers with different line endings; FTPShell's Auto setting picks text mode only for names on its text-pattern list.
How to install an FTP client on Windows 10, and is there an FTP client for Windows 10 64 bit?
Download the MSI from the download page, right-click it, choose Run as administrator and follow the wizard; shortcuts appear in the Start menu and on the desktop. The same installer serves Windows 10 32- and 64 bit and Windows 11.