File management overview

Alpacon’s WebFTP is a web-based file transfer solution that allows you to easily access and manage file systems on registered remote servers through a web browser. No external FTP client installations required—just use your browser for secure file operations.

What is WebFTP?

WebFTP provides intuitive, browser-based file management for your servers. Upload, download, and manipulate files in a seamless interface without installing additional software.

Key features

1. Visual file and directory navigation

Browse full directory structure in tree view
Quick path navigation with clickable breadcrumbs
Instant file preview and information
Multi-column layout for efficient browsing

2. Local-to-server file upload

Upload files or folders from local device
Drag-and-drop support
Multiple file selection
Progress tracking for large uploads

3. Server-to-local file download

Download files or folders to local machine
Batch download support
Compressed folder downloads
Progress indicators

4. Basic file operations

Execute common Linux file commands
Copy files and directories (cp)
Move files and directories (mv)
Remove files and directories (rm)
Create new directories (mkdir)
Rename files and folders
Change permissions (chmod)

Highlights and benefits

Web-based interface:

No separate FTP client installation
Works directly in browser
Cross-platform compatibility
Familiar UI/UX patterns

Integrated with server management:

Automatically linked with registered servers
Group-based access control
Same authentication as other Alpacon features
Unified workspace experience

Secure transfers:

Encrypted via Alpamon agent
TLS-secured communication channels
Audit logs for all operations
Permission-based file access

User-friendly UX:

Drag-and-drop file uploads
Multi-selection support
Instant file previews
Keyboard shortcuts
Responsive design

Security features

Authentication and authorization:

Workspace member authentication required
Group-based server access
File system permissions respected
Read-only mode available

Encrypted communication:

All transfers encrypted via TLS
Secure WebSocket connections
Data integrity verification
No cleartext transmission

Audit logging:

All file operations logged
User activity tracking
Timestamp and IP recording
Compliance support

Permission management:

Linux file permissions enforced
User/group ownership preserved
chmod support for permission changes
Safe defaults for new files

Common use cases

Configuration management:

Upload configuration files
Edit server configs
Backup important files
Deploy application configs

Application deployment:

Upload application code
Deploy static assets
Transfer build artifacts
Update application files

Log analysis:

Download log files
Archive old logs
Transfer logs for analysis
Backup critical logs

Content management:

Upload media files
Manage static content
Update website assets
Organize document libraries

Backup and recovery:

Download backups
Upload restore files
Archive important data
Disaster recovery operations

Accessing WebFTP

WebFTP opens through a work session. Request a session with the File transfer feature, and once it’s approved, open the session and click Launch on File transfer to start managing files. File transfer is also available from the CLI with alpacon cp after attaching to the session.

See Request a session and Use a session.

Account selection

On Linux servers you connect as your own IAM account and use sudo with MFA for privileged actions. On Windows and macOS servers you can also select a system account.

For details on account types, sudo privilege, and MFA authentication, see Account selection.

Getting started

Ready to start managing files?