Ubuntu 26.04

How to Set Up SFTP Server on Ubuntu 26.04

To set up an SFTP server on Ubuntu 26.04, use OpenSSH and chroot user sftpuser.

Step 1 : Update.

sudo apt update

Step 2 : Install OpenSSH.

sudo apt install openssh-server

Step 3 : Set a password. Press Enter to skip extra fields.

sudo adduser sftpuser

Step 4 : Chroot /home/sftpuser (owned by root). Uploads go in files.

sudo mkdir -p /home/sftpuser/files
sudo chown root:root /home/sftpuser
sudo chmod 755 /home/sftpuser
sudo chown sftpuser:sftpuser /home/sftpuser/files

Step 5 : Write the match block.

sudo tee /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/50-sftp.conf <<'EOF'
Match User sftpuser
    ForceCommand internal-sftp
    PasswordAuthentication yes
    ChrootDirectory /home/sftpuser
    PermitTunnel no
    AllowAgentForwarding no
    AllowTcpForwarding no
    X11Forwarding no
EOF

Step 6 : Restart SSH.

sudo systemctl restart ssh

Step 7 : Allow SSH in UFW.

sudo ufw allow ssh

Step 8 : From the client. Change the IP. Password is sftpuser. put hello.txt into files.

echo 'hello world' > ~/hello.txt
sftp sftpuser@192.168.1.50 <<'EOF'
cd files
put hello.txt
ls
bye
EOF

You can also connect with an SFTP client such as FileZilla or WinSCP (host 192.168.1.50, user sftpuser, protocol SFTP).

You have set up an SFTP server on Ubuntu 26.04.