MacFTP

A modern, native-feeling FTP/SFTP client for macOS, built with Electron, React, and TypeScript.

Summary

MacFTP is a desktop application that provides a secure and user-friendly way to manage FTP and SFTP connections. It features a modern macOS-native interface with support for multiple connection profiles, encrypted credential storage, file browsing, downloads, uploads, and file previews. All sensitive data is encrypted using industry-standard AES-256 encryption and stored securely on your local machine.

Features

🔐 Security & Data Protection

• Encrypted Storage: All sensitive credentials (hosts, usernames, passwords, SSH keys) are encrypted using AES-256-CBC encryption
• Secure Key Management: Encryption keys are derived using PBKDF2 and stored securely in macOS Keychain
• Local Storage: All data is stored locally on your machine - no cloud sync, no external servers
• Multiple Protocols: Support for both FTP and SFTP (SSH) with key-based authentication

📁 Site Management

• Save and manage multiple FTP/SFTP connection profiles
• Organize sites by groups with collapsible sections
• Set initial paths for automatic navigation after connection
• Visual connection progress indicators

🔍 File Browser

• Browse remote file systems with an intuitive interface
• Address bar with autocomplete suggestions
• File details view (size, permissions, dates, owner)
• Multiple navigation methods (click, breadcrumbs, buttons)

📥 Download Management

• Queue multiple downloads with progress tracking
• Real-time progress with speed and ETA
• Download history that persists across app restarts
• Conflict resolution: overwrite, rename, skip
• Background download support

📤 Upload Management

• Drag & drop file and folder uploads
• Upload progress tracking with speed and ETA
• Conflict resolution (overwrite, rename, skip) with "apply to all" option
• Support for single files, multiple files, folders, and mixed uploads

👁️ File Preview

• Text file preview with syntax highlighting and search
• Image preview with zoom controls
• Automatic cleanup of temporary preview files

🎨 User Interface

• Modern macOS design with custom title bar
• Dark/Light mode toggle
• Resizable panels for optimal workspace layout
• Toast notifications for user feedback

Installation

Prerequisites

• macOS (tested on macOS 10.15+)
• Node.js v16 or higher
• npm

Build from Source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/fihtony/macFTP.git
   cd macFTP

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Build the application:

   npm run build

4. Build for macOS distribution:

   # Build DMG installer
   npm run build:dmg
   
   # Or build ZIP archive
   npm run build:mac

The built application will be in the release directory.

Development

Running in Development Mode

npm run dev

This starts both the Electron app and Vite dev server with hot module replacement.

Project Structure

macFTP/
├── src/
│   ├── main/                          # Electron main process (Node.js)
│   │   ├── main.ts                    # Entry point, window management
│   │   ├── preload.ts                 # IPC bridge between main and renderer
│   │   └── services/
│   │       ├── commonHandler.ts       # Common FTP/SFTP operations, duplicate resolution
│   │       ├── database.ts            # Encrypted data storage (electron-store)
│   │       ├── downloadFileHandler.ts # Single file download handling
│   │       ├── downloadFolderHandler.ts # Folder download handling
│   │       ├── encryption.ts          # AES-256 encryption utilities
│   │       ├── ftpHandlers.ts         # FTP/SFTP connection and file operations
│   │       ├── uploadFileHandler.ts   # Single file upload handling
│   │       └── uploadFolderHandler.ts # Folder upload handling
│   ├── renderer/                      # React frontend
│   │   ├── App.tsx                    # Main application component
│   │   ├── main.tsx                   # React entry point
│   │   ├── index.css                  # Global styles and theme variables
│   │   ├── store.ts                   # Zustand state management
│   │   ├── utils.ts                   # Utility functions
│   │   ├── components/                # UI components
│   │   │   ├── FileExplorer.tsx       # Main file browser
│   │   │   ├── Sidebar.tsx            # Site manager sidebar
│   │   │   ├── TitleBar.tsx           # Custom title bar
│   │   │   ├── DownloadManager.tsx    # Download queue and history
│   │   │   ├── UploadProgressDialog.tsx # Upload progress dialog
│   │   │   ├── DownloadProgressDialog.tsx # Download progress dialog
│   │   │   ├── FilePreview.tsx        # File preview component
│   │   │   └── ...                    # Other dialog and UI components
│   │   ├── services/
│   │   │   └── UploadManager.ts       # Unified upload session management
│   │   ├── types/
│   │   │   └── upload.ts              # Upload-related type definitions
│   │   └── utils/
│   │       └── formatters.ts          # Date and size formatting utilities
│   └── shared/                        # Shared code between main and renderer
│       └── fileExtensions.ts          # File extension mappings
└── assets/
    └── icons/                         # Application icons

Demo Servers

Rebex Test Server (Recommended)

• Host: test.rebex.net
• Port: 21 (FTP) or 22 (SFTP)
• Username: demo
• Password: password
• Note: Read-only server for testing

License

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2025 Tony Xu

See LICENSE file for details.

Author

Tony Xu

• Email: tony@tarch.ca
• GitHub: @fihtony
• Repository: https://github.com/fihtony/macFTP