How to Deploy SFTPGo: A Multi-Protocol File Server with Web Interface

Every business needs to share files securely. Some clients prefer SFTP. Some staff prefer a web interface. Some applications only speak WebDAV. SFTPGo handles all of these protocols from a single server with a unified web administration panel. Here is how to deploy it with Docker.

Step 1: Create the Docker Compose File

services:
  sftpgo:
    image: ghcr.io/drakkan/sftpgo:v2-alpine
    container_name: sftpgo
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:8089:8080"
      - "2022:2022"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/srv/sftpgo
      - ./config:/var/lib/sftpgo
    environment:
      - SFTPGO_DEFAULT_ADMIN_USERNAME=admin
      - SFTPGO_DEFAULT_ADMIN_PASSWORD=your_admin_password

Port 8089 is the web admin interface (proxied through your reverse proxy). Port 2022 is the SFTP port (exposed directly for SFTP clients). Add FTP port 21 and WebDAV port if you need those protocols.

Step 2: Configure the Reverse Proxy

Add a proxy host for files.yourdomain.com pointing to sftpgo:8080. Request SSL and enable Force SSL. The admin panel and the web client are available at this URL.

Step 3: Create Users and Shared Folders

Open https://files.yourdomain.com. Log in with the admin credentials. Create user accounts for each person who needs file access. Assign each user a home directory, set permissions (read, write, delete, list), and configure bandwidth limits if needed.

SFTPGo supports virtual folders: map multiple directories to appear as subfolders in a user's home directory. A client can see a folder for project files, a folder for invoices, and a folder for reports, all appearing in their SFTP root, even if the actual data is stored in different locations on disk.

Step 4: Connect Users to S3-Compatible Storage

SFTPGo can use S3-compatible object storage as a backend. Instead of storing files on the server's local disk, configure a virtual folder to point to an S3 bucket. Users connect via SFTP or the web interface as usual. Files are stored in S3. This is useful for offsite backups, large storage requirements, or compliance with data residency requirements.

Step 5: Share Files Publicly

SFTPGo includes a web client at https://files.yourdomain.com/web. Users log in with their SFTPGo credentials and access their files through a browser. Create share links with optional passwords and expiration dates. Share a file with a client by generating a link. They download it without needing an SFTP client or login credentials.

SFTPGo logs every file transfer: who accessed which file, when, from which IP address, and what they did. This audit trail is essential for businesses that need to demonstrate data access controls for compliance.

VPS1 deploys SFTPGo with configured users, virtual folders, and S3 storage backends. Your clients and staff get secure file access through whatever protocol they prefer. You get a complete audit trail of every transfer.