How to Setup SFTP Server on Fedora Linux

SFTP, or Secure File Transfer Protocol, is a robust solution to safeguard the file transfers in today’s digital landscape. By encrypting both data and authentication processes, it ensures the confidentiality and security. SFTP servers facilitate the secure file exchanges, enabling the individuals and organizations to transfer the sensitive data seamlessly. You configure the access permissions and user groups, restricting the SFTP access to the designated users or groups.However, setting the SFTP server can be difficult on Fedora Linux for those unfamiliar with commands. So, in this tutorial, we will explain the simplest way to setup an SFTP server on Fedora Linux with a few simple steps.

How to Setup the SFTP Server on Fedora Linux

Let’s begin by updating the Fedora system as per the latest updates available:

Now, run the following command to install the OpenSSH server in the system:

Once you install the OpenSSH server, start the SSH service and enable it to start automatically at boot:

To configure the SFTP access, edit the SSH server configuration file:

In this config file, uncomment the following line:

If you want to restrict the SFTP access to specific users or groups, add these lines at the end of the file:

This configuration restricts the SFTP access to the users belonging to the “sftpTEAM” group, chroots them to their home directories, and enforces SFTP only. If needed, create an SFTP-only group to which you can add the users:

To grant the SFTP access to specific users, add them to the “sftpTEAM” group (or any other group you created):

After configuring the SSH server, restart the SSH service to apply the changes:

Your SFTP server is now set up on Fedora Linux. Users in the specified group (e.g., “sftpTEAM”) can securely transfer the files to and from their home directories using SFTP. Ensure that the user permissions and access control meet your security requirements.

Conclusion

This is all about the brief method that you can use while setting up the SFTP server on Fedora Linux with no hassles. The SFTP server ensures the secure file transfer with diverse user permissions. Hence, we recommend you to add only the specific users on your server, or you may face privacy and security-related issues. Moreover, you can easily create groups to handle the user permissions.