Files: the file manager and SFTP

The Files tab on a server is a full file manager for the server folder. It talks to the file service on the node directly, so uploads and downloads do not pass through the panel and run at the node’s own speed. Everything below also works over SFTP with a desktop client; the details are at the end.

Getting around

  • Breadcrumbs at the top show where you are. Click any part of the path to jump back up, or the home button for the server root. The path is in the page address, so the browser’s back and forward buttons move between folders and you can bookmark a folder.
  • Folders first, then files. Click a folder to open it. Click a file name to download it.
  • Sort by clicking the Name, Size or Modified column header; a second click flips the order.
  • Filter with the box in the toolbar. It narrows the current folder to names containing what you type.
  • Sizes are shown for files and for folders. Folder sizes come from a scan on the node and are cached for a minute, so a folder you just filled can show its old size until the next refresh.
  • Refresh with the circular-arrows button when you changed files from another client and want the listing to catch up.
  • Disk used against your storage is in the server header above the file manager.
  • The folder count and file count of the open folder are next to the breadcrumbs.

Uploading

  • Drag files or whole folders from your computer onto the page. Folders are recreated on the server with their structure before the files inside go up.
  • The Upload button opens a file picker for one file at a time; drag and drop is the way to send many.
  • Each transfer shows a progress toast with the speed and the time left, and a cancel control.
  • Size limit: 10 GB per file. A world folder of a few gigabytes is fine; for very large uploads SFTP is often faster and can resume.
  • Downloads: click a file, or right-click and choose Download. To download several files or a folder, select them and use ZIP in the toolbar (or Download as ZIP in the right-click menu). The archive is built on the node and streamed to you; one ZIP download runs at a time.

Editing files in the browser

  • Hover a file and click the pencil, or right-click and choose Edit. The editor opens in a dialog with a dark theme; Save writes the file back, Cancel discards the changes.
  • Editable types: .yml, .yaml, .toml, .txt, .cfg, .conf, .json, .log, .snbt, .secret and .sk. JSON files are pretty-printed when they open.
  • Files over 1 MB open only through download. A large log is better read from the Console tab or downloaded.
  • server.properties is generated by the panel from your settings, so it is not editable here by default. Turn on Self Manage Server Properties in Settings if you want to edit it by hand; from then on the panel stops overwriting it and the file shows an Edit button.
  • The editor has no autosave. Save before closing the dialog.

Selecting, moving and copying

  • Tick the box on a row to select it, or the box in the header to select everything in the folder. With a selection the toolbar switches to Copy, Cut, ZIP or Unzip, and Delete with a count.
  • Right-click a row for the context menu: Open, Download, Download as ZIP, Edit, Extract, Copy, Cut, Rename, Copy Path, Share and Delete. Right-clicking a selected row acts on the whole selection.
  • Copy, cut and paste work like a desktop. Copy or cut in one folder, go to another, and Paste appears in the toolbar. The operation runs on the node; nothing is downloaded to your computer.
  • Undo reverses the last paste for 60 seconds: copied files are removed again, moved files go back.
  • Drag and drop inside the file manager moves files. Drop a row onto a folder row or onto a breadcrumb to move it there; dragging a selected row moves the whole selection.
  • Rename with the pencil on the row, the right-click menu or F2. Renaming to a path such as plugins/old/Essentials.jar moves the file as well.
  • Copy Path puts the file’s full path on your clipboard, handy for a console command or a support ticket.

New folders and deleting

  • New Folder asks for a name. Slashes create nested folders in one go: plugins/MyPlugin/config.
  • Delete always asks for confirmation and lists what will go. Deleting is not undoable; take a backup first if you are not sure. Large deletes show progress and can be cancelled part way.

Zip archives

  • To unpack a zip you uploaded, hover it and click the amber unzip icon, select it and press Unzip, or right-click and choose Extract. The contents land in the current folder, and files with the same name are overwritten, so extract a world into an empty folder or into the right place on purpose.
  • Only .zip is extracted in place. For .tar.gz or .rar, unpack on your computer and upload the folder, or use SFTP.
  • Packing files into an archive happens through Download as ZIP, which builds the archive for download rather than leaving a copy on the server.

Right-click a file or folder and choose Share to hand it to someone without giving them your SFTP login. A share link expires after 1, 12 or 24 hours, allows 1, 5 or 10 downloads, and can carry a password (the recipient leaves the username empty and enters the password). The file manager warns before you share a file that looks like it holds secrets, such as .env, config.yml or anything with “password” or “token” in the name. The link icon in the toolbar lists the active shares with their remaining time and downloads, and lets you revoke one or all.

Keyboard shortcuts

KeysAction
?Open the built-in guide
Ctrl+ASelect or deselect everything
Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+VCopy, cut, paste
Ctrl+ZUndo the last paste (within 60 seconds)
Delete or Backspace with a selectionDelete
Backspace with nothing selectedGo to the parent folder
F2Rename the selected item
EscapeClear the selection, then the clipboard

Use Cmd instead of Ctrl on a Mac.

Phones and tablets

The file manager works on a phone: the toolbar shrinks to icons, the Modified column hides and the breadcrumbs scroll sideways. Tick the boxes and use the toolbar for copy, cut, delete and unzip; on Android a long press on a row opens the right-click menu as well.

SFTP with a desktop client

Every server has SFTP access for FileZilla, WinSCP, Cyberduck or the command line. The connection details are under Settings, General in the SFTP Information card:

  • Host and Port (port 2022 on most nodes).
  • Username: the server’s id, shown on the card.
  • Password: View shows it, Reset generates a new one. The password is separate from your FadeHost account.

SFTP sees the same server folder as the file manager, with the same storage quota. It is the better tool for very large uploads, for keeping a local copy of the server in sync, and for anything the browser does not do, such as unpacking a .tar.gz. Plain FTP is not offered; SFTP encrypts the transfer. If a client fails to log in several times in a row, the node blocks that address for half an hour; wait it out or check the password.

When the file manager is unavailable

  • Node under maintenance: files come back when the maintenance finishes; the reason is shown on the page.
  • Couldn’t reach the file server: the node’s file service is not answering. Press Retry, or use SFTP in the meantime.
  • Team access: team members need the manage files permission for the server; the owner grants it under Team.

Something missing or wrong? Tell us or ask in Discord.