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
📊 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
}

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)
`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:

Icon	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
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

🔧 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

📤 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 with ❤️ 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

Configuration Reference

🎮 Commands

📂 Remote Explorer

Features

Access

📊 Status Bar

🎯 Glob Patterns

Ignore Patterns

Watch Patterns

🔒 Security Best Practices

🔧 Troubleshooting

🤝 Contributing

Found a Bug?

📄 License