Connect with SFTP and SSH

SFTP lets you transfer files between your computer and your website securely. SSH gives you a command line inside your website. Both use the same login, which belongs to the website.

Sign in to the control panel and open Websites.
Select the website, then select Advanced in its navigation bar and choose Developer tools.
Scroll to SSH password authentication.

The SSH password authentication section with the password reset form open. Marker 1 is beside the copy button of the Login command, marker 2 beside the Reset button, marker 3 beside the button that generates a password and marker 4 beside the Save button.

Login command marker 1 has everything you need, in the form ssh -p PORT USERNAME@HOST:

the number after -p is the port
the part before the @ is your username
the part after the @ is the host

Select the copy button marker 1 to copy the whole command.

Set a password or add a key

You sign in with either a password or an SSH key. A key is more secure and saves typing a password.

Set a password

Under SSH password authentication, select Reset marker 2.
Enter a New password, or select the key button marker 3 to generate a strong one. It needs at least 10 characters, with a lowercase letter, an uppercase letter, a number and a special character.
Save the password in your password manager, then select Save marker 4.

Add an SSH key

The Add SSH key form in the SSH key manager. Marker 1 is beside the Name field, marker 2 beside the Public key box, marker 3 beside the Upload file button and marker 4 beside the Upload button.

On your computer, create a key pair if you do not have one. In a terminal, ssh-keygen -t ed25519 creates one; the public key is the file ending in .pub.
In Developer tools, under SSH key manager, select Add.
Enter a Name marker 1 that tells you which computer the key is from.
Paste your public key into Public key marker 2, or select Upload file marker 3 and choose the .pub file.
Select Upload marker 4.

A key works for the whole website, not for a single domain.

Connect with FileZilla

Open FileZilla and choose File > Site Manager.
Select New site and give it a name.
Set Protocol to SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol.
Enter the Host and Port from the login command.
Set Logon Type to Normal and enter the username and password. If you added an SSH key, choose Key file instead and select your private key.
Select Connect. The first time, FileZilla asks you to trust the server’s key. Check the host is the one from the login command, then accept.

You start in the website’s home folder. Your site’s public files are in public_html.

Connect from a terminal

On macOS, Linux and Windows 10 or later, a terminal app already includes SSH and SFTP. Paste the login command to open a command line, or change ssh -p to sftp -P (capital P) to transfer files:

ssh -p PORT USERNAME@HOST
sftp -P PORT USERNAME@HOST

FTP accounts

If an app or a person only needs plain FTP access, add an FTP account under Advanced > FTP. An FTP account can be limited to one folder with Directory. Plain FTP is not encrypted, so use SFTP whenever your app supports it.

Troubleshooting

Connection refused or timed out: check the host and port, and that your app is set to SFTP rather than FTP.
Permission denied: check the username and password. If you use a key, make sure its public key was added in SSH key manager.
Host key changed warning: do not continue. Contact support to confirm the server’s key first.