FileFerry

Deploy files from VS Code to remote servers over SFTP, FTP, or FTPS — without leaving the editor.

Right-click changed files in the Source Control panel and pick FileFerry: Upload, or open the FileFerry → Changed Files view, select files, and press Alt+U. No config file juggling, no manual path entry — just deploy what git knows you changed.

Built on these principles:

• Deploy what changed — git-aware upload from the FileFerry Changed Files view or the Source Control panel; deploy exactly the files you edited, nothing more
• Credentials never on disk — passwords and keys live in the OS keychain (macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, Linux libsecret); your .vscode/fileferry.json is safe to commit
• Confirm before every deploy — no silent uploads; you always see what will be sent before it goes
• Full visibility — dry run mode, upload history, and file date guard mean you always know what happened and why
• Modern SSH — works with OpenSSH 8.8+, 1Password agent, PEM keys, and keyboard-interactive 2FA out of the box

Coming from vscode-sftp?

If vscode-sftp stopped working on Ubuntu 22.04+, AWS EC2, or after a server upgrade, the cause is almost always missing modern OpenSSH algorithms (rsa-sha2-256, ed25519, curve25519-sha256). FileFerry supports them out of the box.

A few practical differences:

Existing sftp.json files aren't auto-imported — set up your server once in FileFerry's Deployment Settings panel, and your credentials move to the keychain.

Upload changed files

Two ways to deploy what you've changed:

• SCM right-click — select files in the Source Control panel, right-click → FileFerry: Upload.
• Changed Files view — open the FileFerry sidebar, focus the Changed Files view, select one or more files, press Alt+U. The view auto-refreshes as you edit.

FileFerry shows a confirmation before every deploy. Upload to multiple servers at once with Shift+Alt+U.

• Multi-select upload — Source Control right-click or the FileFerry Changed Files view; select any number of files and deploy in one action
• Upload all changed files — Ctrl+Alt+U deploys everything git considers changed, no selection required
• Upload from commit — pick one or more recent commits and deploy every file they touched (working-tree version)
• Multi-server push — deploy to dev, staging, and prod in one action
• Folder upload — right-click a folder in Explorer to upload its contents recursively
• Upload on save — auto-deploy on file save, toggled from the status bar
• Delete deployment — git-deleted files appear in Source Control; deploying removes them from the server
• Dry run mode — preview exactly what would be uploaded without touching the server
• Atomic upload — files land as a temp file and are renamed on completion, no partial states
• Backup before overwrite — optionally download the remote version before replacing it
• File date guard — warns before overwriting a remote file newer than your local copy

Browse and manage remote files

A dedicated sidebar panel lets you browse, download, compare, and delete files directly on the server.

• Remote File Browser — expandable directory tree with persistent connection and idle timeout
• Compare with Remote — side-by-side diff of local vs server version (Alt+P)
• Compare with Local — right-click a remote file to diff against the local counterpart
• Download to Workspace — right-click a remote file to download it to the mapped local path
• Delete from Server — right-click to delete with confirmation
• Copy Remote Path — copy any remote path to clipboard

Simple configuration

Manage servers and credentials through a form — no JSON editing required.

• Multiple servers — define production, staging, and dev servers; switch with one click
• Path mappings — map workspace subfolders to different remote paths per server
• File and directory permissions — set octal permissions (0644, 0755) on uploaded files
• Remote time offset detection — automatically corrects clock skew when comparing timestamps
• Excluded paths — glob patterns to skip files that should never be deployed
• Clone server — duplicate an existing server config as a starting point
• Project settings — per-project toggles for upload-on-save, file date guard, backup before overwrite, and dry run, separate from server config

Secure credential storage

Passwords and passphrases are stored in the OS native keychain (macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, Linux libsecret) — never written to disk or committed to git.

Supported auth methods: password, private key, SSH agent (including 1Password), and keyboard-interactive (2FA).

First-time SSH connections show the server's host-key fingerprint and prompt for trust (TOFU); if a previously-trusted key changes, FileFerry warns before connecting.

.vscode/fileferry.json stores server references and path mappings — no secrets. It is safe to commit.

{
  "defaultServerId": "a1b2c3d4-...",
  "servers": {
    "a1b2c3d4-...": {
      "mappings": [
        { "localPath": "/", "remotePath": "html" }
      ],
      "excludedPaths": ["node_modules", "*.log", ".env"]
    }
  }
}

This file is created and managed by FileFerry — you do not need to edit it manually.

Upload history

Every deploy is logged. Filter by server, result, or file path.

Status bar

The active server is always visible. Click to switch servers, toggle upload on save, enable dry run, or open upload history.

Quick Start

1. Install FileFerry from the marketplace
2. Open Ctrl+Shift+P → FileFerry: Deployment Settings
3. Add a credential — click Manage... next to the credential dropdown
4. Add a server and configure path mappings
5. Open the FileFerry sidebar → Changed Files, select changed files, press Alt+U (or right-click changed files in the Source Control panel → FileFerry: Upload)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Configurable via Preferences → Keyboard Shortcuts → search fileferry.

Troubleshooting

"No project binding found" — Open Deployment Settings and configure a server for this project.

"Default server not found" — The server in .vscode/fileferry.json no longer exists. Open Deployment Settings and save again.

"Authentication failed" — Open Credentials Manager, edit the credential, and re-enter the password.

Upload goes to the wrong path — Check path mappings. The most specific (longest) matching local path wins.

SSH key not working — Permissions must be 600: chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa.

Keychain not working on Linux — Install libsecret: sudo apt install libsecret-1-0.

FileFerry can overwrite or delete remote files. Always verify your configuration before deploying to a production server.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.85 or later
• An SFTP or FTP-capable remote server
• For private key auth: an SSH key pair (ssh-keygen)
• For SSH agent auth: ssh-agent running with your key added (ssh-add)
• On Linux: libsecret for OS keychain support

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for release notes.

License

GPL-3.0-or-later — see LICENSE