Using the FTP App in OttoKit

Managing files on your server shouldn’t feel like a chore. With the FTP Core App in OttoKit, you can move, create, and organize files as easily as dragging and dropping them on your computer — except it’s automated, repeatable, and built right into your workflows.

Whether you’re uploading critical reports every night, fetching fresh data for processing, or keeping directories tidy, the FTP Core App puts the power of FTP, FTPS, and SFTP directly at your fingertips.

From creating secure folders to bulk uploads, scheduled downloads, or running file checks, this app connects your server to your automation without leaving OttoKit.

Understanding FTP, FTPS, and SFTP

Before you start, let’s quickly break down what these three options mean so you can choose the right one:

• FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
  The classic way to transfer files between your computer and a server. It’s quick and works almost everywhere, but it sends information (including passwords) in plain text, so it’s best for trusted, internal networks.
• FTPS (FTP Secure)
  An upgraded version of FTP that uses SSL/TLS encryption. Your usernames, passwords, and files are protected during transfer, making FTPS a safer choice for public or less secure networks.
• SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol)
  A completely different protocol that runs over SSH (Secure Shell). Every piece of data, including commands, is encrypted, making SFTP the most secure option for sensitive file operations.

Tip: If security is your top priority, use SFTP. If you need compatibility with older FTP setups but want encryption, go for FTPS.

A Quick Word on Permissions

When creating directories, you’ll see numbers like 700, 750, or 755. These are UNIX-style permission codes that define who can read, write, or execute files in a directory.

Example:

• 700 – Only you (the owner) can access the folder.
• 755 – Anyone can view files, but only you can make changes.
• 775 – You and your group can make changes; others can only view.

Choosing the right permissions helps keep your files both accessible and secure.

Creating a Connection

Before you can run any actions, you’ll need to connect OttoKit to your server.

To create a connection:

1. Go to OttoKit > Apps > Create a connection.
2. In the search bar, type FTP and select it.

Fill in these fields:

1. Title – A friendly name for your connection.
2. Protocol – Choose FTP, FTPS, or SFTP.
3. Host – Your server hostname or IP.
   Example: ftp.example.com or 192.168.1.1
4. Port – Default is 21 for FTP/FTPS, and 22 for SFTP.
5. Username – Your server login username.
6. Password – Your server login password.
7. Passive Mode – Yes or No.
   • Use Passive Mode for FTP/FTPS when connecting through firewalls.
   • Not applicable for SFTP.
8. If you are unsure about any detail, you can confirm with your website host.

Actions in the FTP Core App

1. Create a Directory

Use this action to make a new folder on your server.

To create a directory:

1. In your workflow, click Add Step.
2. In the app search bar, type FTP and select it.
3. From the list of available actions, select Create Directory.
4. Under Choose Connection, select the FTP connection you created earlier.
5. Click Continue – this will open the Configure tab.
6. Fill in the fields:
   • Directory Path – Enter the full path where the folder should be created. Example: /public_html/new-folder
   • Create Parent Directories – Yes or No.
   • Permissions – Select 700, 750, 755, or 775.
7. Click Continue – this will open the Test Step tab.
8. Click Test to run the action and verify it works.
9. If the test is successful, click Save.

2. Upload a File

Send a file from your workflow to your server.

To upload a file:

1. In your workflow, click Add Step.
2. In the app search bar, type FTP and select it.
3. From the list of available actions, select Upload File.
4. Under Choose Connection, select your existing FTP connection.
5. Click Continue to go to the Configure tab.
6. Fill in the fields:
   • Remote File Path* – Full path and filename where the file should be saved. Example: /public_html/images/photo.jpg
   • (Optional – click “Show Optional Fields”):
     • File Content – Raw file content.
     • File URL – A direct link to fetch the file from.
     • Content Type – Choose Text/String or Base64.
     • Transfer Mode – Auto-detect, ASCII, or Binary.
7. Click Continue to move to the Test Step tab.
8. Click Test to upload the file and confirm the action works.
9. If successful, click Save.

3. Download a File

Retrieve a file from your server.

To download a file:

1. In your workflow, click Add Step.
2. Search for FTP and select it.
3. From the action list, select Download File.
4. Under Choose Connection, pick your saved FTP connection.
5. Click Continue to open the Configure tab.
6. Fill in the fields:
   • Remote File Path* – Path to the file to be downloaded. Example: /public_html/reports/data.csv
   • Transfer Mode – Auto-detect, ASCII, or Binary.
7. Click Continue to go to Test Step.
8. Click Test – this will return a download URL for the file.
9. If the download is successful, click Save.

4. List Files

View the contents of a directory on your server.

To list files:

1. In your workflow, click Add Step.
2. Search for FTP and select it.
3. From the list of actions, choose List Files.
4. Under Choose Connection, select your FTP connection.
5. Click Continue to go to the Configure tab.
6. Fill in the fields:
   • Directory Path – The directory to scan. Example: /public_html/uploads
   • List Type – All, Files only, or Directories only.
   • Include Details – Yes or No.
7. Click Continue to go to Test Step.
8. Click Test to verify that the file list appears.
9. If the results are correct, click Save.

5. Delete File

Remove a file from your server.

To delete a file:

1. In your workflow, click Add Step.
2. Search for FTP and select it.
3. From the action options, choose Delete File.
4. Under Choose Connection, select your existing FTP connection.
5. Click Continue to go to Configure.
6. Fill in the fields:
   • Directory Path* – Full path of the file to delete. Example: /public_html/images/old-logo.png
7. Click Continue to move to Test Step.
8. Click Test to confirm the file is deleted.
9. If successful, click Save.

Best Practices

• Test connections before running live workflows.
• Use Passive Mode for FTP/FTPS behind firewalls.
• Choose Binary Transfer Mode for large files to prevent corruption.
• Set permissions carefully to balance access and security.

That’s All

Practical Use Cases

Below are three practical examples showing how to use it.

Upload a Nightly Sales Report to Your Server

Scenario: Your team generates a daily sales report that needs to be stored on your server each night. Instead of uploading it manually, you can use the Upload File action in the FTP App to automatically send the file to the correct folder on your server at the same time every day.

Step 1: Set Up the Trigger

1. Create a new workflow in OttoKit.
2. Click the trigger area and search for Schedule.
3. Set the schedule to run every night at a time that suits your team, for example, 11 pm.
4. Click Save Trigger.

Step 2: Generate the Report File

1. Click the + button below the trigger.
2. Search for “Google Sheets” and select “Fetch Range”.
3. Connect your Google account, then select the spreadsheet and sheet that contain your sales data.
4. Range: enter the cell range for your data, for example, A1:E100.
5. Click Test to confirm the data loads correctly. Click Save.
6. Click + to add another step.
7. Search for Convert to File and select Convert to CSV.
8. Data (required): map the data output from the Google Sheets step.
9. Filename (optional): enter daily-sales-report.csv.
10. Click Test to generate the CSV file and get a public file URL. Click Save.

Step 3: Upload the File to Your Server

1. Click the + button below the Convert to File step.
2. Search for FTP and select it.
3. Choose Upload File as the action.
4. Under Choose Connection, select your FTP connection.
5. Click Continue to open the Configure tab.
6. Remote File Path (required): Enter the full path on your server where the file should be saved. For example: /public_html/reports/daily-sales-report.csv
7. Click Show Optional Fields and set the following:

Field	What to Enter
File URL	Map the File URL output from the Convert to File step.
Content Type	Select Text/String for a CSV file.
Transfer Mode	Select Auto-detect or Binary.

1. Click Continue, then click Test to confirm the file uploads to your server successfully.
2. Click Save.
3. Click Publish Workflow.

That is it. Now every night your workflow pulls the latest sales data, creates a CSV file, and uploads it to your server automatically.

Download a Data File from Your Server and Email It to Your Team

Scenario: Your server receives a new data file each morning, placed there by an external system or supplier. You want OttoKit to automatically download the latest file and email a download link to your team so they can access it without logging into the server.

Step 1: Set Up the Trigger

1. Create a new workflow in OttoKit.
2. Click the trigger area and search for Schedule.
3. Set the schedule to run every morning at the time you expect the file to be ready, for example, 8 am.
4. Click Save Trigger.

Step 2: Download the File from Your Server

1. Click the + button below the trigger.
2. Search for FTP and select it.
3. Choose Download File as the action.
4. Under Choose Connection, select your FTP connection.
5. Click Continue to open the Configure tab.
6. Remote File Path (required): enter the full path to the file on your server. For example: /public_html/imports/daily-data.csv
7. Transfer Mode: select Auto-detect or Binary.
8. Click Continue, then click Test. The output will include a download URL for the file.
9. Click Save.

Step 3: Email the Download Link to Your Team

1. Click the + button below the FTP step.
2. Search for Gmail and select Send Email.
3. To: enter your team email address or distribution list.
4. Subject: Daily Data File is Ready.
5. Body: write your message and use @ to map the download URL from the FTP Download File step. For example, the latest data file has been downloaded and is ready for review. Click the link to access it: [map download URL here].
6. Click Test, then Save.
7. Click Publish Workflow.

That is it. Now every morning your workflow downloads the latest file from your server and emails the download link to your team automatically.

Create a New Folder and Upload a File When a Product Is Added

Scenario: Every time a new product is added to your WordPress site, you want to automatically create a dedicated folder on your server for that product and upload the product image to it. This keeps your server file structure organised and consistent without any manual work.

Step 1: Set Up the Trigger

1. Create a new workflow in OttoKit.
2. Click the trigger area and search for WordPress.
3. Select Post Created as the trigger event.
4. Connect your WordPress site.
5. Set the post type to Product (or the relevant post type for your site).
6. Click Save Trigger, then Fetch Data to load a sample product. Make sure the sample includes the product ID and the featured image URL.

Step 2: Create a New Folder on Your Server

1. Click the + button below the trigger.
2. Search for FTP and select it.
3. Choose Create Directory as the action.
4. Under Choose Connection, select your FTP connection.
5. Click Continue to open the Configure tab.
6. Directory Path (required): Enter the path for the new folder. Use @ to map the product ID into the path so each product gets its own folder. For example: /public_html/uploads/products/[map product ID here]
7. Set the following optional fields:

Field	What to Enter
Create Parent Directories	Select Yes so parent folders are created automatically if they do not exist.
Permissions	Select 755 so files are accessible, but only you can make changes.

1. Click Continue, then click Test to confirm the folder is created on your server.
2. Click Save.

Step 3: Upload the Product Image to the New Folder

1. Click the + button below the Create Directory step.
2. Search for FTP and select it.
3. Choose Upload File as the action.
4. Under Choose Connection, select your FTP connection.
5. Click Continue.
6. Remote File Path (required): enter the full path including the filename. Use @ to map the product ID and image filename. For example: /public_html/uploads/products/[product ID]/product-image.jpg
7. Click Show Optional Fields and set the following:

Field	What to Enter
File URL	Map the featured image URL from the WordPress trigger.
Content Type	Select Base64 if the image comes as a Base64 string, or Text/String for a direct URL.
Transfer Mode	Select Binary for image files to prevent corruption.

1. Click Continue, then click Test to confirm the image uploads to the new folder.
2. Click Save.
3. Click Publish Workflow.

That is it. Now every time a new product is created on your site, OttoKit automatically creates a dedicated server folder and uploads the product image to it.

With the FTP Core App in OttoKit, managing server files becomes effortless and automated. From creating secure directories to uploading, downloading, listing, or deleting files, everything can now run seamlessly inside your workflows without relying on external tools.

Whether you’re handling nightly report uploads, scheduled data fetches, or simply keeping your directories organized, OttoKit ensures your file operations are secure, reliable, and repeatable.

Start setting up your FTP workflows today and let OttoKit handle the heavy lifting — so you can focus on what matters most.