Implicit SSL FTP Clients with Scripting?

malcomvetter asks: "I need a command line FTP client that supports 'Implicit SSL', sports some kind of scripting interface, and runs on Win32. Any suggestions? So far, I have only found GUI versions such as FileZilla." I remember once needing a scripting FTP client long ago. It took me a long time, but I finally found one that had a workable but unintuitive interface. Have scripting FTP clients become more prevalent or is your best bet using something flexible with network bindings (like Python or Perl) to get the job done?

Comments

cURL?

[forsetti]

Try cURL. Available for every platform under the sun, and does almost everything.

If Cygwin is an option then lftp is perfect.

[mohaine]

lftp

Personally

[DJStarquake]

I needed the same, and used CuteFTP. (Commercial). It has an SDK so you can use its methods from within services etc. Does what it says on the tin - I scripted using WSH, others may vary. In fact I noted the fact that scripting would rarely be needed as it has a great scheduler that met most of our requirments (we only needed scripting for triggers).

Cygwin

[aventius]

Install Cygwin (basically its a Unix command line & environment for Windows) and then install sftp, scp, or ssh. All three will get the job done. I have never found a Windows FTP GUI that I liked... hell I haven't found an SFTP GUI on any platform that I liked. Fetch on OSX is very nice but doesn't support SFTP (unless I'm an idiot and missed something).

scp

[Kiaser Zohsay]

PuTTY has pscp and Cygwin has scp from the openssh package. SSL encryption and files get from point A to point B. I use perl to move files to a web server and simultaneously update a MySQL table of file info (filename, description, size, modifed date), so its scriptable as all hell.

Expect

[chriseyre2000]

expect is atcl extension thast was written for just this purpose.

Re:SCP?

[hey!]

We do that all the time for our CVS access. It also makes scp a snap.

But privacy without entering a password is only one possible requirement. Another possible requirement is anonymity.

I assume that scp doesn't transmit the user's identity in cleartext (it shouldn't be necessary since the server has a public key), so anonymity over the wire presumably isn't an issue. But suppose I wanted to make sure that when the subpeona is issued, it would be trickier to associate a file transfer to a user. Then ftp over ssl, running scripted from a zombie client would be the way to go.

But I agree, scp with key files would fit the bill for convenient privacy and on-wire anonymity for most applications.

expect is great for this

[monkeyserver.com]

expect is awesome for scripting, especially where the interface isn't completely predictable. It basically sends out commands, waits for certain replies back, then responds them, all according to script your right.

Some cool things, autoexpect, this will basically record a session you do (like the script command), and right an expect script for it. Also if you use the -p (I think, check the man) option, it won't make the prompts strict, just in case there is a datestamp in there.

SecureFX

[eric2hill]

Try SecureFX from VanDyke Software. I've been using their SecureCRT/SecureFX combo for a year or so now and it works great. Both are command-line scriptable as needed.

Re:scp

[j-turkey]

Well, some time ago I needed a reliable ftp-like client for my scripting needs, but security was also a requirement. I decided to use pscp through command line interface. Pscp is a PuTTY SCP client for Windows platform. Works well for me.

Problem is, pscp lacks large file support.

What about SSH certs and Rsync?

[madstork2000]

I have to transfer files and directories across several locations, and I do it automatically using rsync and SSH certificates.

SSH is configured to only allow transfers with a valid certificate from a valid IP address. There is no pass-phrase on the certs.

Copying / syncing directories is a breeze:

rsync -ae ssh server1:/copy/this/directory/ /to/this/directory

No fuss. I have not tried rsync on win32, but I am sure it exists. I do a lot of web development, but have not used a ftp client on a regular basis in years. My sites are backed up to remote servers using this method, and new sites are uploaded using rsync as well.

Its fast, easy to use and saves on bandwidth, as only changes are transfered. With FTP the whole file is always moved. SO bandwidth savings alone may be worth looking into this solution.

-MS2k

Try Fugu for OSX

[teridon]

Fugu is a decent BSD-style licensed GUI for SFTP, SCP and SSH tunnels

Re:sftp (part of cygwin)

[darthgnu]

The admin can disable sftp because it uses a protocol extension. Scp OTOH uses no protocol extension and can be used with any ssh server.

Re:scp

[divbyzero]

Not relevant to the original poster's question, but if you need to download larger files than pscp supports, why not try the following:

plink username@hostname cat remote-filename > local-filename

For upload, use this instead:

plink username@hostname "cat > remote-filename" local-filename

Who needs a dedicated file transfer protocol? :-)

(plink is the PuTTY package's equivalent of the standard command line SSH client, with no GUI nor terminal emulation)