iFastHostingHow to use FileZilla
Installing FileZilla, connecting it to your hosting account, and using its two-panel layout to move files on and off the server.
FileZilla is a free FTP client available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and it is the one most guides in this knowledgebase assume you are using when they mention a "client" rather than a browser. It handles FTP, FTPS and SFTP connections in the same window, remembers your sites so you do not have to retype details, and shows exactly what is happening during a transfer — which matters when something goes wrong halfway through uploading two hundred files.
This guide covers installing it, connecting it to your hosting account, and the handful of features that make day-to-day use easier once you are past the first connection.
Installing FileZilla
Download the FileZilla Client — not FileZilla Server, which is a different piece of software for running your own FTP server and is not what you want here. Install it the same way you would install any other program on your operating system. There is nothing to configure during installation itself; all the setup happens once it opens.
FileZilla is popular enough that copies bundled with unwanted extra software circulate elsewhere. Get it from the project's own website and decline any additional offers the installer presents.
Connecting for the first time
You need four things from the FTP section of your own control panel before you open FileZilla: the host, your username, your password, and the port. These are specific to your account — never reuse a host or port from another site or from an old set of instructions.
There are two ways to connect:
The quick bar at the top
FileZilla's toolbar has four boxes labelled Host, Username, Password and Port. Fill them in and click Quickconnect. This is the fastest way to test a connection but it does not save your details for next time.
The Site Manager, for anything you will reconnect to
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Open the Site Manager
It is available from the File menu, or the icon at the top left that looks like a small server stack. Click New Site and give it a name you will recognise, such as your domain.
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Fill in your connection details
Set the protocol to match what your control panel offers — FTP, FTPS, or SFTP — then enter the host, port, username and password. For FTPS, choose "Require explicit FTP over TLS" as the encryption setting; for SFTP, the protocol dropdown itself changes to SFTP and the port defaults to 22.
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Choose how the password is stored
FileZilla will ask whether to save the password. Saving it is convenient on a computer only you use; on a shared machine, choose to be asked for it each time instead.
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Connect
Click Connect at the bottom of the Site Manager window. The message log at the top of the main window shows each step of the connection, which is the first place to look if it fails.
Reading the FileZilla window
| Area | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Message log (top) | Every command sent and every response received. The most useful place to look when a transfer fails, because it usually names the exact problem. |
| Local site (left) | The files and folders on your own computer. |
| Remote site (right) | The files and folders on your hosting account, once connected. |
| Transfer queue (bottom) | Files waiting to upload or download, in progress, and completed. Failed transfers show here with a reason. |
To transfer a file, find it in one panel and drag it into the other, or right-click it and choose Upload or Download. Whole folders work the same way — drag a folder across and FileZilla queues everything inside it.
On the remote side, find and open the public_html folder before uploading anything meant for your live website. Files placed elsewhere on the account are stored but will not be reachable by visitors.
Useful settings worth changing
- Transfer type — leave this on Auto unless a specific file type is arriving corrupted; FileZilla usually detects binary versus text correctly on its own.
- Default action on file exists — under Transfer settings, you can set FileZilla to always ask, always overwrite, or always skip when a file with the same name already exists remotely. Asking every time is the safest default until you are confident in your workflow.
- Number of simultaneous transfers — increasing this can speed up a batch of many small files, but it also increases the chance of hitting a connection limit on busier accounts. The default is a sensible starting point.
When FileZilla will not connect
A "Connection timed out" or "Could not connect to server" message is almost always one of: an incorrect host or port, a firewall blocking the connection, or an active-versus-passive mode mismatch. Our guide to fixing FTP connection problems covers each of these, including where to change FileZilla's transfer mode under Edit > Settings > Connection > FTP.
Once you are comfortable connecting and transferring single files, the next useful skill is moving a large number of files or one very large file efficiently — covered in uploading a very large file.
Related reading
A plain walkthrough of connecting to your hosting account with an FTP client, from finding your login details to seeing your files on the server.
FTP, FTPS and SFTP: which to useThree protocols with confusingly similar names, one of which sends your password in the open. Here is what actually separates them.
How to fix FTP connection problemsThe handful of things that actually stop an FTP connection working, checked in the order most likely to fix it fastest.
How to upload a very large fileGetting one very large file, or a great many small ones, onto your hosting account without the transfer failing partway through.