SFTP Setup Guide (Finley-Hosted)

How to integrate and upload data to the Finley-hosted SFTP server

Once you’ve decided on Finley-hosted SFTP as your preferred method to upload data, you’ll need to: 1) authenticate your computer, and 2) connect to the Finley-hosted SFTP server. This guide walks you through two options for Step 1 (Authentication), either of which will enable you to move on to Step 2 (Connection).

Step 1: Authentication

Option A - SSH key-based authentication

The SSH key-based authentication method is more secure. In order to set it up, you will need to generate an SSH key pair and follow the steps below.

1. Create SSH Keys. The first step to configure SSH key-based authentication is to generate an SSH key pair on your local computer. The ssh-keygen utility tool can be used to generate this key on Mac OS X- or Linux-based systems. We recommend using a 4096-bit RSA keypair. The code for generating this key pair is below:

>$ ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -f </path/to/key-generated> -C <[e-mail]>

1. Send your public key to Finley via email. You can find your newly generated key pair using the -f option specified during key generation in Step 1. You will need to send us your public key by email to [e-mail].

>$ ls /path/to/

key-generated <--- Private key, Please keep it secure and do not lose it

key-generated.pub <--- Public key, OK to share with anyone

1. Obtain a username and verify that you are able to connect. Upon receiving your public key, the Finley support team will configure your SFTP account. Afterwards, you will receive a follow-up email with your SFTP username. Once your username is obtained, you can verify your SFTP connection. To do so, please refer to the Connect to the Finley-hosted SFTP server section of this document below.

   1. Note: If you’re still unable to connect to SFTP, please contact [e-mail] and we will be happy to help you. If your private key is lost or compromised, please contact [e-mail] immediately. We will revoke the access to the existing SSH keys associated with your account, and ask you to regenerate an SSH keypair.

Option B - Password-based authentication

If you’re not comfortable accessing Finley’s SFTP server via SSH key-based authentication, our team can help you configure password-based authentication.

1. Email the Finley team for a username and password. In order to obtain your password, please email [e-mail] and your username and password will be provided to you via an encrypted email.
2. (If necessary) Reset your password. If you lose your password, please contact [e-mail] and we will provide a new password for your existing username via an encrypted email.

Step 2: Connect to the Finley-hosted SFTP server

You can connect to the Finley-hosted SFTP server with any tool of your choosing. Below, we provide examples of how you can connect via a CLI tool or the Cyberduck client.

Connecting via an SFTP CLI tool with SSH key-based authentication

>$ sftp -i </path/to/privateKey> <username>@sftp.finleycms.com

Connecting via an SFTP CLI tool with password-based authentication

>$ sftp <username>@sftp.finleycms.com

password: <--- enter your password

Connecting with the Cyberduck client

Questions?

If you have any questions, please reach out to [e-mail] and our team would be glad to help!