FTP/SFTP Sync Watcher

The most reliable VS Code extension for automatic file synchronization with FTP/SFTP servers

Features • Installation • Configuration • Commands • Troubleshooting

Features

Feature	Description
Upload on Save	Automatically upload files when you save them
File Watcher	Monitor file changes and sync automatically in real-time
Remote Explorer	Browse and manage remote files directly in VS Code
Auto-Delete	Optionally delete remote files when local files are deleted
.gitignore Support	Automatically respects your `.gitignore` rules
Custom Ignore Patterns	Exclude files and folders with powerful glob patterns
SSH Key Authentication	Secure SFTP connections with private key support
FTPS / TLS Support	Secure FTP connections with certificate and TLS options
Status Bar Integration	Real-time sync status at a glance
Smart Reconnection	Automatic reconnection with exponential backoff
Operation Queue	Prevents hanging uploads with timeout and retry mechanisms
Connection Pooling	Intelligent connection management to avoid server limits

Why This Extension?

Other FTP/SFTP extensions often stop working after a while and fail to upload files silently. This extension solves that with:

Robust Architecture

Automatic Reconnection with exponential backoff (up to 5 retries)
Operation Timeout — no more hanging uploads
Health Checks — detects connection issues proactively
Global Connection Limiting — respects server connection limits

Smart Queue System

Non-blocking Queue — uploads are processed in sequence
Retry Mechanism — failed uploads are retried automatically
Rate Limit Handling — waits intelligently when server is busy
Priority System — important operations first

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace (Recommended)

Open VS Code
Press Ctrl+P (or Cmd+P on Mac)
Type: ext install ThaLoco0ne.ftp-sync-watcher
Press Enter

Manual Installation

Download the .vsix file from Releases
In VS Code: Extensions → ... → Install from VSIX...

Configuration

Create a .ftpsync.json file in your .vscode folder. The extension will guide you through this process.

Quick Start

Press Ctrl+Shift+P → FTP Sync: Create Configuration File

SFTP Configuration (Recommended)

{
  "name": "Production Server",
  "protocol": "sftp",
  "host": "example.com",
  "port": 22,
  "username": "deploy",
  "privateKeyPath": "~/.ssh/id_rsa",
  "remotePath": "/var/www/html",
  "localPath": "..",
  "uploadOnSave": true,
  "watcher": {
    "enabled": true,
    "files": "**/*",
    "autoUpload": true,
    "autoDelete": false
  },
  "ignore": [".git", ".vscode", "node_modules"],
  "useGitIgnore": true
}

FTP Configuration

{
  "name": "FTP Server",
  "protocol": "ftp",
  "host": "ftp.example.com",
  "port": 21,
  "username": "ftpuser",
  "password": "your-password",
  "remotePath": "/public_html",
  "secure": true,
  "uploadOnSave": true
}

FTPS with Custom TLS Options

{
  "name": "Secure FTP Server",
  "protocol": "ftp",
  "host": "ftp.example.com",
  "port": 21,
  "username": "ftpuser",
  "password": "your-password",
  "remotePath": "/public_html",
  "secure": true,
  "secureOptions": {
    "rejectUnauthorized": true,
    "caPath": ".certs/ca.pem",
    "certPath": ".certs/client-cert.pem",
    "keyPath": ".certs/client-key.pem",
    "minVersion": "TLSv1.2",
    "maxVersion": "TLSv1.3"
  },
  "uploadOnSave": true
}

FTPS with Self-Signed Certificate

{
  "name": "Legacy FTPS Server",
  "protocol": "ftp",
  "host": "ftp.example.com",
  "port": 21,
  "username": "ftpuser",
  "password": "your-password",
  "remotePath": "/public_html",
  "secure": true,
  "secureOptions": {
    "rejectUnauthorized": false
  }
}

Configuration Reference

Click to expand full configuration options

Option	Type	Default	Description
`name`	string	-	Display name for this connection profile
`protocol`	`"ftp"` \| `"sftp"`	`"sftp"`	Connection protocol
`host`	string	required	Hostname or IP address
`port`	number	22 (SFTP) / 21 (FTP)	Port number
`username`	string	required	Username for authentication
`password`	string	-	Password (not recommended for SFTP)
`privateKeyPath`	string	-	Path to SSH private key file
`passphrase`	string	-	Passphrase for encrypted private key
`remotePath`	string	required	Remote directory path
`localPath`	string	`"."`	Local directory relative to workspace
`uploadOnSave`	boolean	`true`	Auto-upload on file save
`watcher.enabled`	boolean	`true`	Enable file watcher
`watcher.files`	string \| false	`"*/"`	Glob pattern for watched files
`watcher.autoUpload`	boolean	`true`	Auto-upload changed files
`watcher.autoDelete`	boolean	`false`	Delete remote files when local deleted
`ignore`	string[]	`[...]`	Glob patterns to exclude
`useGitIgnore`	boolean	`true`	Apply .gitignore rules
`secure`	boolean	`false`	Use FTPS (FTP over TLS) for FTP only
`secureOptions.rejectUnauthorized`	boolean	`true`	Reject self-signed or invalid certificates
`secureOptions.caPath`	string	-	Path to a trusted CA certificate
`secureOptions.certPath`	string	-	Path to a client certificate
`secureOptions.keyPath`	string	-	Path to a client private key
`secureOptions.passphrase`	string	-	Passphrase for encrypted TLS private key
`secureOptions.minVersion`	string	-	Minimum TLS version (`TLSv1.2`/`TLSv1.3`)
`secureOptions.maxVersion`	string	-	Maximum TLS version (`TLSv1.2`/`TLSv1.3`)
`secureOptions.ciphers`	string	-	OpenSSL cipher list
`secureOptions.servername`	string	-	Override TLS server name (SNI)
`secureOptions.secureProtocol`	string	-	Explicit Node.js TLS protocol override
`timeout`	number	`30000`	Connection timeout in ms
`debug`	boolean	`false`	Enable debug logging

Commands

Access all commands via the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P):

Command	Description
`FTP Sync: Upload Current File`	Upload the active file
`FTP Sync: Upload Folder`	Upload an entire folder
`FTP Sync: Download Current File`	Download the active file
`FTP Sync: Start Watcher`	Start the file watcher
`FTP Sync: Stop Watcher`	Stop the file watcher
`FTP Sync: Toggle Watcher`	Toggle watcher on/off
`FTP Sync: Connect to Server`	Connect to remote server
`FTP Sync: Disconnect`	Disconnect from server
`FTP Sync: Create Configuration File`	Create a new config file
`FTP Sync: Show Output Channel`	Show logs

Remote Explorer

Browse and manage your remote files directly in VS Code:

Features

Tree View — Navigate your remote file structure
Download — Download files with one click
Delete — Remove remote files
Refresh — Update the file list

Access

Click the FTP Sync icon in the Activity Bar
Click Connect to connect to your server
Browse and manage your files!

Status Bar

The status bar shows the current state:

Status	Description
FTP Sync	Watcher inactive — click to start
Watching	Watcher active — click to stop
Syncing...	Upload in progress
Error	Error occurred — check output for details

Glob Patterns

Ignore Patterns

{
  "ignore": [
    ".git", // Ignore .git folder
    ".vscode", // Ignore .vscode folder
    "node_modules", // Ignore node_modules
    "*.log", // Ignore all .log files
    "**/*.map", // Ignore all .map files in any folder
    "dist/**", // Ignore everything in dist folder
    "!dist/index.html", // Except dist/index.html
    "temp*", // Ignore files/folders starting with temp
    "**/.DS_Store" // Ignore all .DS_Store files
  ]
}

Watch Patterns

{
  "watcher": {
    "files": "src/**/*.{ts,js,css,html}",
    "autoUpload": true,
    "autoDelete": false
  }
}

Pattern	Description
`*/`	All files in all folders
`src/**`	All files in src folder
`*.js`	All JS files in root
`*/.{js,ts}`	All JS and TS files

Security Best Practices

Important Security Recommendations

Use SSH Keys — Prefer privateKeyPath over password for SFTP
Use rejectUnauthorized: true — Only disable certificate validation for self-signed FTPS servers you explicitly trust
Protect Config Files — Add .ftpsync.json to .gitignore if it contains sensitive data
Use Environment Variables — Consider using passphrase-protected keys
Limit Permissions — Use the minimum required server permissions

Note: secure and secureOptions only apply to FTP/FTPS. SFTP is already encrypted via SSH and uses privateKeyPath / passphrase instead.

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

Verify host, port, and credentials
Ensure the server is reachable
Enable "debug": true for detailed logs
Check the Output Channel: FTP Sync: Show Output Channel
For FTP: Try enabling "secure": true for FTPS
For self-signed FTPS servers: either provide secureOptions.caPath or temporarily set secureOptions.rejectUnauthorized to false

Files Not Uploading

Check the ignore patterns
Ensure uploadOnSave is enabled
Verify the file isn't excluded by .gitignore
Check the Output Channel for errors

SSH Key Issues

Ensure the key is in OpenSSH format
Check file permissions of the private key
For encrypted keys: provide the passphrase
Try converting the key: ssh-keygen -p -m PEM -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa

Max Connections Error (530)

This extension handles this automatically by:

Limiting concurrent connections (max 2)
Waiting 60 seconds when server rejects connections
Queuing operations and processing sequentially

If you still see this error, wait a few minutes for old connections to close.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Found a Bug?

Please open an issue with:

Your VS Code version
Extension version
Steps to reproduce
Error messages from the Output Channel

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Made by LiL-Loco

Report Bug • Request Feature

FTP/SFTP Sync Watcher

ThaLoco0ne

FTP/SFTP Sync Watcher

Features

Why This Extension?

Robust Architecture

Smart Queue System

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace (Recommended)

Manual Installation

Configuration

Quick Start

SFTP Configuration (Recommended)

FTP Configuration

FTPS with Custom TLS Options

FTPS with Self-Signed Certificate

Configuration Reference

Commands

Remote Explorer

Features

Access

Status Bar

Glob Patterns

Ignore Patterns

Watch Patterns

Security Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Contributing

Found a Bug?

License