SFTP Browser

Transfer files with drag-and-drop, edit remotely with the built-in Monaco editor, and manage permissions efficiently

Netcatty includes a powerful SFTP browser for managing files on remote servers. Transfer files with drag-and-drop, edit code with syntax highlighting, and manage permissions—all without leaving the app.

Opening SFTP Browser

From Vault

Open SFTP for a specific host:

1. Right-click a host in the vault
2. Select Open SFTP
3. Or double-click with Alt key held

The SFTP browser opens in a new pane or tab.

From Terminal

Open SFTP for the current connection:

• Press ⌘+Shift+O (macOS) / Ctrl+Shift+O (Windows/Linux)
• Or click the Files icon in the terminal toolbar

Netcatty switches to SFTP view for that session.

Quick Access

Recent SFTP sessions appear in:

• File menu → Recent SFTP Sessions
• Quick switcher (⌘+K / Ctrl+K) → type “sftp”

Interface Layout

The SFTP browser has three main areas:

1. Local Pane (Left)

   Browse your local filesystem:

   • Navigate directories
   • Select files for upload
   • Create local folders
   • Preview local files

   Default location: Home directory (~/ or %USERPROFILE%)

2. Remote Pane (Right)

   Browse the remote server filesystem:

   • Navigate directories
   • View file permissions and sizes
   • Download files
   • Create remote folders

   Default location: User’s home directory on remote server

3. Transfer Queue (Bottom)

   Monitor active and completed transfers:

   • Upload/download progress
   • Transfer speed
   • Error messages
   • Cancel active transfers

File Operations

Upload Files

Drag and Drop

The easiest method:

1. Select files in the local pane
2. Drag them to the remote pane
3. Drop in the target directory

You can also drag files from your system file manager (Finder, Explorer, Nautilus) directly into the remote pane.

Upload Button

Use the toolbar:

1. Navigate to target directory in remote pane
2. Click Upload button
3. Select files in the file picker
4. Click Open to start upload

Context Menu

Right-click method:

1. Select files in the local pane
2. Right-click → Upload to Remote
3. Files transfer to the current remote directory

Download Files

Drag and Drop

1. Select files in the remote pane
2. Drag them to the local pane
3. Drop in the target directory

Download Button

1. Select files in the remote pane
2. Click Download button
3. Choose local destination in the folder picker
4. Click Select Folder to start download

Context Menu

1. Select files in the remote pane
2. Right-click → Download
3. Files transfer to the current local directory

File Management

Other file operations:

Operation	How To
Create folder	Right-click in pane → New Folder
Rename file/folder	Right-click → Rename → Enter new name
Delete file/folder	Right-click → Delete → Confirm
Copy path	Right-click → Copy Path
Refresh directory	Click refresh icon or press F5

Deletion is permanent. SFTP delete operations bypass the trash/recycle bin. Always double-check before deleting files.

Built-in File Editor

Netcatty includes a Monaco editor (the same editor used in VS Code) for editing remote files:

Open Files

Open a file in the editor:

• Double-click a file in the remote pane
• Or right-click → Edit

Supported file types:

• Source code (JavaScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go, etc.)
• Config files (JSON, YAML, TOML, INI, XML)
• Web files (HTML, CSS, Markdown)
• Shell scripts (Bash, Zsh)
• Text files

Editor Features

Syntax Highlighting

Automatic language detection with color syntax highlighting for 100+ languages.

IntelliSense

Code completion and suggestions for JavaScript, TypeScript, JSON, and more.

Find & Replace

Search within files with regex support and multi-cursor editing.

Auto-Save

Changes are saved automatically to the remote file when you stop typing.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Editor shortcuts:

Action	macOS	Windows/Linux
Save file	⌘+S	Ctrl+S
Find	⌘+F	Ctrl+F
Replace	⌘+H	Ctrl+H
Go to line	⌘+G	Ctrl+G
Comment/uncomment	⌘+/	Ctrl+/
Format document	Shift+Alt+F	Shift+Alt+F
Close editor	⌘+W	Ctrl+W

The Monaco editor supports most VS Code keyboard shortcuts. If you’re familiar with VS Code, you’ll feel right at home.

Permissions Management

View Permissions

File permissions are shown in the remote pane:

-rw-r--r--  1 user group  1024  Jan 15 10:30  config.json
drwxr-xr-x  2 user group  4096  Jan 15 10:25  scripts/

Permission format: [type][user][group][other]

Example: -rw-r--r--

• -: Regular file (or d for directory, l for symlink)
• rw-: User can read and write
• r--: Group can read only
• r--: Others can read only

Change Permissions (chmod)

Modify file permissions:

1. Right-click a file or folder
2. Select Change Permissions
3. Enter octal mode (e.g., 755, 644) or use checkboxes
4. Click Apply

Common Modes

Mode	Permissions	Use Case
644	rw-r--r--	Regular files
755	rwxr-xr-x	Executable scripts
600	rw-------	Private keys
700	rwx------	Private directories
777	rwxrwxrwx	Public (not recommended)

Permission Breakdown

Octal mode breakdown:

• First digit: Owner permissions
• Second digit: Group permissions
• Third digit: Other permissions

Each digit is the sum:

• 4 = Read
• 2 = Write
• 1 = Execute

Example: 755 = 4+2+1, 4+0+1, 4+0+1 = rwxr-xr-x

Change Owner (chown)

Changing file ownership requires sudo permissions. Configure Use sudo for SFTP in the host settings if needed.

1. Right-click a file or folder
2. Select Change Owner
3. Enter new owner: user:group
4. Click Apply

Sudo Support

For operations requiring elevated permissions:

Enable Sudo

Configure sudo support in host settings:

{
  "sftpSudo": true
}

1. Edit the host in the vault
2. Check Use sudo for SFTP operations
3. Save the host configuration

When enabled, Netcatty launches the SFTP subsystem with sudo, allowing:

• Writing to system directories (/etc, /var/www)
• Changing ownership of files
• Modifying permissions on restricted files

Security consideration: Sudo SFTP runs with root privileges. Only enable for trusted servers where you have sudo access.

Password Prompt

If your user requires a password for sudo:

1. Enter your password in the SFTP browser prompt
2. Netcatty caches the password for the session
3. Subsequent operations use the cached password

Bookmarks

Quickly access frequently used directories:

Add Bookmark

1. Navigate to a directory in the remote pane
2. Click the Bookmark icon (star) in the toolbar
3. Enter a label (e.g., “Web Root”, “Logs”)
4. Click Save

Use Bookmarks

Access bookmarked directories:

1. Click the Bookmarks dropdown
2. Select a bookmark
3. Remote pane navigates to that directory

Bookmarks are saved per-host in the host configuration:

{
  "sftpBookmarks": [
    { "id": "bm1", "path": "/var/www/html", "label": "Web Root" },
    { "id": "bm2", "path": "/var/log", "label": "System Logs" }
  ]
}

File Encoding

Configure filename encoding for servers with non-UTF-8 filenames:

{
  "sftpEncoding": "gbk"
}

Supported encodings:

• utf-8 (default)
• gbk (Chinese)
• big5 (Traditional Chinese)
• shift_jis (Japanese)
• euc-kr (Korean)
• iso-8859-1 (Latin-1)

Only change encoding if you see garbled filenames in the SFTP browser. Most modern systems use UTF-8.

Transfer Queue

Monitor Transfers

The transfer queue shows:

• Active transfers: Current uploads/downloads with progress bars
• Completed transfers: Recently finished operations
• Failed transfers: Errors with retry option

Transfer Controls

Action	How To
Pause transfer	Click pause icon
Resume transfer	Click resume icon
Cancel transfer	Click X icon
Retry failed	Click retry icon
Clear completed	Click Clear button

Concurrent Transfers

Netcatty supports simultaneous file transfers:

• Multiple files in one operation transfer in parallel
• Different SFTP sessions can transfer independently
• Default concurrency: 4 simultaneous transfers

Keyboard Shortcuts

SFTP browser shortcuts:

Action	macOS	Windows/Linux
Open SFTP	⌘+Shift+O	Ctrl+Shift+O
Refresh	⌘+R	F5
Go to parent directory	Backspace	Backspace
Upload	⌘+U	Ctrl+U
Download	⌘+D	Ctrl+D
New folder	⌘+Shift+N	Ctrl+Shift+N
Rename	F2	F2
Delete	Delete	Delete
Select all	⌘+A	Ctrl+A

Troubleshooting

SFTP Connection Failed

Cause: SSH connection doesn’t support SFTP subsystem.

Solutions:

• Verify SFTP subsystem is enabled on the server: grep Subsystem /etc/ssh/sshd_config
• Should show: Subsystem sftp /usr/lib/openssh/sftp-server
• Restart SSH service after enabling: sudo systemctl restart sshd

Permission Denied Errors

Cause: Insufficient permissions to access files/directories.

Solutions:

• Check file permissions with ls -la
• Enable Use sudo for SFTP in host settings if you have sudo access
• Verify your user is in the correct group: groups
• Contact server administrator for permission changes

Slow Transfers

Cause: Network latency, server load, or large files.

Solutions:

• Check network speed: ping hostname
• Try compressing large files before transfer
• Use compression for uploads (see Compressed Uploads)
• Consider rsync for large directory syncs instead of SFTP

Editor Won't Open File

Cause: File too large or unsupported binary format.

Solutions:

• Check file size (editor limit is typically 10MB)
• Verify file is text-based: file filename
• Use Download and edit locally for very large files
• Binary files cannot be edited in the Monaco editor

Garbled Filenames

Cause: Character encoding mismatch.

Solution: Set sftpEncoding in host configuration to match the server’s locale (e.g., gbk, big5, shift_jis).

Best Practices

Use Bookmarks

Create bookmarks for frequently accessed directories like /var/www, /etc, /var/log to navigate quickly.

Enable Sudo Carefully

Only enable sudo SFTP for trusted servers. Review changes before saving to system directories.

Verify Before Delete

Double-check file paths before deleting. SFTP deletions are immediate and permanent.

Use Editor for Quick Edits

The built-in editor is perfect for config tweaks and small script changes. For major editing, use a local IDE with git.

Related Topics

Host Configuration

Configure sudo SFTP and encoding options

File Transfer Troubleshooting

Solve SFTP connection and transfer issues

Authentication

Set up SSH key authentication for SFTP

Terminal Workspaces

Manage SFTP browser alongside terminal sessions