FTP Service in OSX Server (Mountain Lion 10.8)

I had some errrors that the user was not allowed to use FTP, then one can not switch to that directory, but I was able to get both resoved if you can give me more info maybe i can help.

When you attempt to login with a user what is the exact error you are receiving?

I would use the terminal to login.

ftp username@yourserver.com

This is going to blow your mind, you have your share point ...

/Volumes/Work HD/TEST

... It can not contain " " (a space) try renaming the drive and have your path look like ...

/Volumes/WorkHD/TEST

... it "should" work.

morrissey-ingenious wrote:

This is going to blow your mind, you have your share point ...

/Volumes/Work HD/TEST

... It can not contain " " (a space) try renaming the drive and have your path look like ...

/Volumes/WorkHD/TEST

... it "should" work.

Thanks for posting this! This worked for me too and is much better than my workaround.

I was also getting the "550 Can't change root" error; I had put the FTP share in the "Shared Items" folder provided by default. Once I renamed the folder to "Shared_Items" and reset up shares on the subfolders, FTP worked correctly. No error and access was given directly to the set the share. I should have known better than to leave that space -- shades of the iTunes installer that wiped volumes.

Removing the space and getting proper access directly to the selected share is much better than my workaround. I hacked the /Library/Server/Config/ftpd.conf file. I commented out the first legit line:

# chroot real /Shared Items/share

FTP access worked but dropped me in root / , which was expected since I had commented out that line.

I can't give you points, but I can "Like" your post.

This was the fix for me too!

I'm punching myself for not thinking of this...

THANK YOU! 😁

Hello morrissey-ingeniousor anybody else:

I'm trying to grant access for our web-developer to only one specific folder (websites). We have many users on this machine, but only users with the right to manage the server (Admin rights) can access the server via FTP. I have seen in the screenshot of Figaro_krskthat there should be an panel to set FTP rights individually. Unfortunately my FTP Control panel in blank:

Can anybody figure out how I can set FTP correctly?

Thank!

Jensoweber wrote:

Hello morrissey-ingeniousor anybody else:

I'm trying to grant access for our web-developer to only one specific folder (websites). We have many users on this machine, but only users with the right to manage the server (Admin rights) can access the server via FTP. I have seen in the screenshot of Figaro_krskthat there should be an panel to set FTP rights individually. Unfortunately my FTP Control panel in blank:

Can anybody figure out how I can set FTP correctly?

Thank!

I think you only see user-permissions panel in FTP (like Figaro_krsk screenshot) when you "Websites Root" (or maybe also "Websites"). If you use a custom share for FTP, which it looks like you're doing, then you won't get that panel. I have a custom setup, I see what you see with your screen shot -- lots of white.

To give others FTP rights say on a custom share, in Server, you need to make sure they can use the FTP service itself:

1. Under "Accounts", select "Users"

2. Highlight/select the User you to give FTP access to.

3. Click the gear, and select "Edit Access to Services"

4. Make sure "FTP" is selected

That makes sure they can use FTP.

Then If you need further fine-grained control over the share, then you can tweak the permissions on the share itself. So, you may need to check the permissions on the share you've designated "151_straub", make sure the web-developer has permissions on 151_straub.

Probably the most detailed way is in Server -> under "Hardware", select your server -> select "Storage" tab. Navigate to folder, then select the gear and pick "Edit Permissions".

what a logical bummer... searched the whole server, switched the firewall of, checked my router through and through... Thanks, thats the problem of course... ;-)

Hi guys.

Could anyone explain why a 'Local network user' has to have a 'Home' folder and can't be selected as 'None - Services only' for the FTP to work for them?

Surely when I select the services 'FTP' and 'File Sharing' for this user then they should be able to login via FTP even if they have their Home Folder as 'None - Services Only' ?

After creating a local network user you need to "Edit access to services" and make sure FTP is checked.

You may also need to download Workgroup Manager for Server.app, select that new user, go to the Advanced tab then make sure the "Login script:" pull down menu is /bin/bash. There by be others that work, but the default setting doesn't.

Thanks that worked! The user already had the FTP and File Sharing services selected. But changing that option in Workgroup Manager did the trick, the user can now FTP.

Surely you shouldn't have to do that though and the initial options in Server.app should have been enough.

What exactly does bin/bash mean?

It's the shell environment used in Terminal.

I am also struggling with the FTP server. Similar problem, but not exact the same. My problem is that different users doesn't connect to their correct share. It's like my FTP server don't have a clue which user belong to what folder...

I have turned on File Sharing and FTP. I have given them home folders that corresponds to the folder I want them to have. It feels that I've trid everything, but I must have missed something.

In the help files it look very promising; " A scenario where you would use FTP and not File Sharing service is if you are using the Websites service on your server and want to provide others working on websites you are hosting a simple way to upload and download content to your server."

But in reality it doesn't work. At all.

Any ideas?