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Building FTP site

Setting up FTP sites (Ubuntu 22.04)

FTP is an application-layer protocol used for file transfer between a client and a server over a computer network. Typically, it operates on two ports: 20 and 21. This topic describes how to set up an FTP site on a Ubuntu 22.04 instance.

Prerequisites

You have purchased an ECS instance and associated an EIP with it.

The ECS instance status is Running.

Software version

Linux operating system: This topic uses Ubuntu 22.04 as an example.

Client operating system: This topic uses macOS Sequoia 15.6.1 as an example.

vsftpd: This topic uses vsftpd 3.0.2 as an example.

Procedure

Step 1: Install vsftpd

Execute the following commands to install vsftpd.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install vsftpd

Execute the following command to specify that the vsftpd automatically starts upon instance startup.

systemctl enable vsftpd

Execute the following command to start the FTP service.

systemctl start vsftpd

Execute the following command to check whether the service is started.

netstat -antup | grep vsftpd

If the following output is displayed, the vsftpd service is started.

tip

vsftpd allows anonymous access by default. The default FTP server path for anonymous users is /var/ftp/pub. Anonymous users only have view permissions—they cannot create, delete, or modify files or directories.

Step 2: Configure vsftpd

Execute the following command to back up the vsftpd configuration file.

sudo cp /etc/vsftpd.conf /etc/vsftpd.conf.bak

Modify the vsftpd configuration file.

Execute the following command to open the vsftpd configuration file.

sudo vim /etc/vsftpd.conf

Press the i key to enter edit mode. Enable IPv4 socket listening, and disable IPv6 socket listening.

listen=YES
listen_ipv6=NO

Modify the FTP access permissions to allow only local users to access FTP and disable anonymous access.

anonymous_enable=NO
local_enable=YES

Modify the following configuration to enable file uploads.

write_enable=YES

Remove the comment symbol # at the beginning of the following configuration lines. This allows you to restrict FTP user directory access using chroot jails and configure which files FTP service users can access.

chroot_local_user=YES
chroot_list_enable=YES
chroot_list_file=/etc/vsftpd.chroot_list

Add FTP service directory configuration and enable write permissions for users in the mounted chroot (root directory change) environment.

local_root=/home/ftp
allow_writeable_chroot=YES

Add the following configuration as needed to set FTP to active mode or passive mode.

tip

Due to firewall settings on most clients and other factors, the active mode may cause issues. We recommend using passive mode to set up an FTP service.

Active mode

port_enable=YES

Passive mode

tip

Replace <PUBLIC_IP> with the actual public IP address of the server hosting the FTP site.

pasv_enable=YES
pasv_min_port=35000
pasv_max_port=40000
pasv_address=<PUBLIC_IP>

Press the esc key to exit edit mode, enter :wq, and press the Enter key to save the changes and exit the configuration file.

Create a chroot_list file, and add the list of exception usernames to the file.

tip

Users in an exception list are not restricted to their home directories and can access other directories.

Execute the following command to create the chroot_list file.

sudo vim /etc/vsftpd.chroot_list

Press i to enter edit mode and enter the exception user list.

Press Esc to exit the edit mode, enter :wq, and then press Enter to save and exit the file.

Execute the following command to restart vsftpd for the configuration to take effect.

sudo systemctl restart vsftpd

Step 3: Configure user directory

After you install vsftpd, a default passwordless user named ftp is created. Execute the following command to modify the password.

sudo passwd ftp

If the following output is displayed, the login password for user ftp is modified.

Execute the following command to ensure that the shell of user ftp is included in the /etc/shells file.

SHELL_TO_CHECK=$(getent passwd ftp | cut -d: -f7) && (grep -q "^$SHELL_TO_CHECK$" /etc/shells || echo "$SHELL_TO_CHECK" >> /etc/shells)

Execute the following command to add the user ftp to the vsftpd list of users allowed to log in.

echo "ftp" | sudo tee -a /etc/vsftpd.userlist

Execute the following command to create the FTP file directory.

sudo mkdir /home/ftp

Execute the following command to grant permissions for the FTP file directory.

tip

In the example provided in this topic, read, write, and full control permissions on the folder are granted. Modify the corresponding permissions as needed.

sudo chmod 777 /home/ftp

Step 4: Configure security group

After the FTP site is set up, add rules to the inbound direction of the instance security group and allow the following FTP ports. For detailed steps, refer to Changing security group rules.

FTP usage mode	Direction	Protocol type	Port range	Source address
Active mode	Inbound	TCP	20/21	0.0.0.0/0
Passive mode	Inbound	TCP	Port 21, and all ports between the values of parameters pasv_min_port and pasv_max_port, which are defined in the /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf configuration file. tip To adjust the passive mode port range, refer to configuration recommendations. This topic uses the range 35000-40000 as an example.	0.0.0.0/0

Step 5: Client test

You can verify the FTP service using FTP client software, a browser, a file explorer, or other tools. This topic uses MacOS Finder as an example.

Open Finder and select "Go > Connect to Server" in the top menu bar.

Enter ftp://ECS instance EIP:21 and click the "Connect" button.

In the pop-up login window, confirm the FTP server information and click the "Connect" button.

Enter the FTP username and password that have been set, and then click "Connect". After the connection succeeds, you can view the files in the specified directory on the FTP server.

warning

Since macOS "Finder" does not support uploading files to an FTP server, you can download third-party software like FileZilla to transfer files.

Last updated: 2026.06.18 17:48:27