Sync Archives To and From Your Computer (SFTP)

Sync Archives To and From Your Computer (SFTP)

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Permanent.org allows you to use an SFTP client to sync your archive to and from your computer.

What is the SFTP feature?

Our new SFTP (secure file transfer protocol) feature allows you to sync your Permanent.org archive with a folder or directory on your computer using an SFTP client. You can both upload and download your files from your Permanent.org archive. This makes it easier to upload large numbers of files in bulk to Permanent.org. It also provides a way for you to download your entire archive at once. 

We hope this feature will be helpful for professional members working with clients, those with large projects that have already been organized outside of Permanent.org, and those who prefer to build their archive through syncing with a local directory.

Using the SFTP Feature

The SFTP feature requires you to use an SFTP client of your choice. You will also need to complete a few other steps in your account to enable you to use SFTP. Below outlines the steps you can take to set up SFTP on your device:
  1. Choose and download an SFTP client (we recommend FileZilla. Unfortunately, Cyberduck and Transmit are not compatible with our SFTP feature)
  2. Ensure that two-step verification is turned off on your Permanent.org account (you can learn how to manage your two-step verification methods here)
  3. In your SFTP client, set up a new connection. Select SFTP as the connection type and enter sftp.permanent.org as the host and 22 as the port
  4. Enter your Permanent credentials as the username and password. If the client asks you for a private key, select None. If you are using a command line tool that asks for the target account, the target account is [your Permanent.org account name or email]@sftp.permanent.org
  5. Click "Connect" or whatever the client says to confirm the connection. If you get a message about an unknown fingerprint, click Allow
  6. Once the connection is established, you should now see a top folder called "archives." Each of your archives is listed as a subfolder underneath, labeled by the name of the archive and the archive PA number (this is the number you see in the URL when you go to your Public Archive). Under each archive, there will be a subfolder for each of your workspaces (Private, Public, and Apps)
  7. You can upload directly to the SFTP client, as well as add new folders, and this will upload to your archive
Please report back about your experiences using SFTP so we can continue to improve the process for our members. We are currently asking that members limit individual uploads to about 250 files or less at a time as we work to improve the queuing system so the site doesn't experience any slowdowns. Please reach out to support@permanent.org if you have any questions or to share your experience.