SLightSFTP Server

📦 Installation

1. Download the installer from the download section above
2. Run the SLightSFTP-1.1.0-setup.msi installer
3. Follow the installation wizard:
   • Choose installation directory (default: C:\Program Files\SLightSFTP)
   • Select Desktop shortcut option
   • Installer creates all required directories automatically
4. Launch SLightSFTP from the Start Menu or Desktop shortcut
5. First launch automatically creates database and default admin user

Note: Administrator privileges are required for installation and first launch.

🚀 Getting Started

Deployment Modes

SLightSFTP supports two deployment modes:

• Desktop Mode (Default): Full Electron GUI application with system tray support
• Web Server Mode: Browser-based interface accessible from any device (perfect for headless servers)

Key Feature: The Desktop GUI includes built-in controls to start/stop the Web Server, allowing you to run both interfaces simultaneously!

Starting Web Server from Desktop GUI

1. Launch the Desktop application (SLightSFTP)
2. Navigate to the Settings or Web Server section
3. Click Start Web Server
4. The web GUI will be accessible at http://localhost:3000 (default port)
5. You can now manage the server from both the Desktop GUI and browser simultaneously
6. Click Stop Web Server when you want to disable browser access

Note: All web server activity is logged in the activity log.

To run in standalone Web Server mode: Use command npm run start:web or node dist/web-only.js

Default Web GUI URL: http://localhost:3000

First Login

• Default Username: admin
• Default Password: admin123
• ⚠️ Important: Change the default password immediately after first login!

Starting Servers

1. Go to the Listeners panel
2. Default listeners are pre-configured:
   • SFTP on port 22
   • FTP on port 21
3. Click Start on any listener to begin accepting connections

Accessing Web GUI (Web Server Mode)

1. Start the server with npm run start:web
2. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000
3. Log in with your credentials (default: admin/admin123)
4. Access the full management interface from any device on your network
5. The Web GUI port can be configured via WEB_PORT environment variable

👥 User Management

Creating a New User

1. Navigate to the Users panel
2. Click Add User
3. Enter username and configure authentication:
   • Password: Enable and set a secure password
   • Public Key: Optional SSH key authentication
4. Assign the user to one or more listeners
5. Configure virtual paths (directories accessible to the user)
6. Set permissions per listener
7. Click Create

User Permissions

• Read: Download files and view directory contents
• Write: Upload and modify files
• Delete: Remove files and directories
• Rename: Rename files and directories
• Create: Create new files and directories
• List: View directory listings

🔧 Listener Configuration

Creating a New Listener

1. Go to Listeners panel
2. Click Add Listener
3. Configure:
   • Name: Friendly name for the listener
   • Type: SFTP or FTP
   • Port: Port number (default: 22 for SFTP, 21 for FTP)
   • Binding IP: IP address to bind (0.0.0.0 for all interfaces)
4. Click Save
5. Click Start to activate the listener

📁 Virtual Paths

Virtual paths map a virtual directory (seen by clients) to a real directory on your server:

• Virtual Path: /public
• Local Path: C:\sftp\public
• Clients will see /public but access files in C:\sftp\public

Note: Virtual paths provide isolation and security by preventing direct access to server filesystem.

📊 Activity Monitoring

Dashboard

• Real-time activity chart showing operations per second
• Green area: Successful operations
• Red area: Errors and failed operations
• Recent activity (last 1 hour)
• Active listeners and sessions count
• Auto-refreshes every 5 seconds

Activity Log

• Detailed logs of all operations
• Shows: timestamp, listener, username, action, path, authentication method, and remote IP:port
• Copy: Copy all logs to clipboard
• Save: Export logs to CSV file
• Filter and clear logs by date range

🔐 Security Best Practices

• ✅ Change default admin password immediately
• ✅ Use strong, unique passwords for all users
• ✅ Enable SSH public key authentication when possible
• ✅ Grant minimum necessary permissions to users
• ✅ Use virtual paths to isolate user access
• ✅ Regularly review activity logs for suspicious activity
• ✅ Keep the software updated
• ✅ Use firewall rules to restrict access by IP if needed
• ✅ Automatic idle timeout (5 min) prevents hung connections
• ✅ All connection attempts are logged with IP and authentication method

🔧 Connecting to the Server

SFTP Connection (Port 22)

Using FileZilla or WinSCP:

• Protocol: SFTP
• Host: Your server IP or hostname
• Port: 22 (or your configured port)
• Username: Your configured username
• Password: Your password (or use SSH key)

FTP Connection (Port 21)

Using any FTP client:

• Protocol: FTP
• Host: Your server IP or hostname
• Port: 21 (or your configured port)
• Username: Your configured username
• Password: Your password

❓ Troubleshooting

Listener Won't Start

• Check if another application is using the port
• Verify you have administrator privileges
• Check firewall settings

Cannot Connect

• Verify listener is running (green status)
• Check firewall allows connections on the port
• Verify username and password are correct
• Check user is authorized for the listener

Permission Denied Errors

• Verify user has the necessary permissions for the operation
• Check virtual path permissions in the user configuration
• Ensure the user is assigned to the correct listener
• Verify local directory exists and is accessible

Connection Hangs on Exit (Windows SFTP CLI)

• This is a known issue with the built-in Windows SFTP CLI client
• The server automatically disconnects idle connections after 5 minutes
• Solution: Use alternative SFTP clients like FileZilla, WinSCP, or PuTTY's PSFTP
• All resources are properly cleaned up on timeout

Idle Connection Timeout

• Connections idle for 5 minutes are automatically disconnected
• This is normal behavior to prevent resource leaks
• Perform any operation to reset the idle timer
• Simply reconnect if your connection was terminated