Editing File Transfer Protocol (section)

==Software support==
[[File:FileZilla.png|thumb|[[FileZilla]] client running on Windows, one of the best known FTP client software]]

=== File managers ===
Many file managers tend to have FTP access implemented, such as [[File Explorer]] (formerly Windows Explorer) on [[Microsoft Windows]]. This client is only recommended for small file transfers from a server, due to limitations compared to dedicated client software.<ref>[https://helpdesk.egnyte.com/hc/en-us/articles/201637914-FTP-Access-through-Windows-Explorer FTP Access through Windows Explorer]</ref> It does not support [[SSH File Transfer Protocol|SFTP]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=CSC373/406: SSH [2011/03/27-29] |url=https://fpl.cs.depaul.edu/jriely/373/lectures/class-01-014.html |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=fpl.cs.depaul.edu}}</ref>

Both the native file managers for [[KDE]] on Linux ([[Dolphin (file manager)|Dolphin]] and [[Konqueror]]) support FTP as well as SFTP.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FTP |url=https://docs.kde.org/stable5/en/konqueror/konqueror/ftp.html |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=docs.kde.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Brent |date=2023-07-26 |title=How To Connect to FTP/SFTP in Dolphin {{!}} DeviceTests |url=https://devicetests.com/connect-ftp-sftp-dolphin |access-date=2023-10-13 |language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:Primitive FTPd screenshot.png|left|thumb|198x198px|Primitive FTPd on Android, actively running an FTP and SFTP server]]
On [[Android (operating system)|Android]], the My Files file manager on [[Samsung Galaxy]] has a built-in FTP and [[SSH File Transfer Protocol|SFTP]] client.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Moyens |date=2022-02-28 |title=Samsung My Files vs Google Files: Which File Manager is Better on Galaxy Phones |url=https://uk.moyens.net/android/samsung-my-files-vs-google-files-which-file-manager-is-better-on-galaxy-phones/ |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=Moyens I/O |language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Web browser===
For a long time, most common [[web browser]]s were able to retrieve files hosted on FTP servers, although not all of them had support for protocol extensions such as [[FTPS]].<ref name="net+" /><ref name="matthews">{{cite book |last=Matthews |first=J. |year=2005 |title=Computer Networking: Internet Protocols in Action |edition=1st |location=Danvers, MA |publisher=John Wiley & Sons Inc.}}</ref> When an FTP—rather than an HTTP—[[URL]] is supplied, the accessible contents on the remote server are presented in a manner that is similar to that used for other web content. 

Google Chrome removed FTP support entirely in Chrome 88, also affecting other [[Chromium]]-based browsers such as [[Microsoft Edge]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2021/01/linux-release-roundup-chrome-lightworks-more|date=2021-01-26|access-date=2021-01-30|website=omgubuntu.co.uk|title=Linux Release Roundup: GParted, Lightworks, Google Chrome + More|first1=Joey|last1=Sneddon}}</ref> Firefox 88 disabled FTP support by default, with Firefox 90 dropping support entirely.<ref>{{cite web|date=2021-04-19|title=See what's new in Firefox: 88.0 Firefox Release|url=https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/88.0/releasenotes/|access-date=2021-04-20|website=mozilla.org}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

[[FireFTP]] is a discontinued browser extension that was designed as a full-featured FTP client to be run within [[Firefox]], but when Firefox dropped support for FTP the extension developer recommended using [[Waterfox]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=FireFTP - The Free FTP Client for Waterfox |url=https://fireftp.net/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301212656/https://fireftp.net/ |archive-date=2022-03-01 |website=FireFTP.net}}</ref> Some browsers, such as the text-based [[Lynx (web browser)|Lynx]], still support FTP.<ref>{{Cite web |title=URL Schemes Supported in Lynx |url=https://lynx.invisible-island.net/lynx_help/lynx_url_support.html |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=Lynx website}}</ref>

====Syntax====
FTP URL syntax is described in {{IETF RFC|1738}}, taking the form: <code>{{cite web |url=ftp://[user[:password |title=FTP link |work=user:password }}]@]host[:port]/[url-path]</code> (the bracketed parts are optional).

For example, the URL <nowiki>{{Cite FTP |url=ftp://public.ftp-servers.example.com/mydirectory/myfile.txt |server=public.ftp-servers.example.com |url-status=dead |title=FTP link }}</nowiki> represents the file ''myfile.txt'' from the directory ''mydirectory'' on the server ''public.ftp-servers.example.com'' as an FTP resource. The URL <nowiki>{{Cite FTP |url=ftp://user001:secretpassword@private.ftp-servers.example.com/mydirectory/myfile.txt |server=private.ftp-servers.example.com |url-status=dead |title=FTP link }}</nowiki> adds a specification of the username and password that must be used to access this resource.

More details on specifying a username and password may be found in the browsers' documentation (e.g., [[Firefox]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Accessing%20FTP%20servers#w_ftp-servers-that-require-a-username-and-password |title=Accessing FTP servers &#124; How to &#124; Firefox Help |publisher=Support.mozilla.com |date=2012-09-05 |access-date=2013-01-16}}</ref> and [[Internet Explorer]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/135975 |title=How to Enter FTP Site Password in Internet Explorer |access-date=13 February 2020 |archive-date=2 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702005840/https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/135975 |url-status=dead }} Written for IE versions 6 and earlier. Might work with newer versions.</ref>). By default, most web browsers use passive (PASV) mode, which more easily traverses end-user firewalls.

Some variation has existed in how different browsers treat path resolution in cases where there is a non-root home directory for a user.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://jkorpela.fi/ftpurl.html |title=FTP URLs |author=Jukka “Yucca” Korpela |publisher="IT and communication" (jkorpela.fi) |date=1997-09-18 |access-date=2020-01-26}}</ref>

===Download manager===
Most common [[download manager]]s can receive files hosted on FTP servers, while some of them also give the interface to retrieve the files hosted on FTP servers. [[DownloadStudio]] allows not only download a file from FTP server but also view the list of files on a FTP server.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.conceiva.com/products/downloadstudio/features.asp |title=DownloadStudio - Internet Download Manager And Download Accelerator - Features |author= |publisher=Conceiva |date= |access-date=2021-10-19}}</ref>

===Other===
[[LibreOffice]] declared its FTP support deprecated from 7.4 release, this was later removed in 24.2 release.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/7.4 |title=LibreOffice 7.4: Release Notes |publisher=The Document Foundation's Wiki |accessdate=2022-09-10 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/24.2 |title=ReleaseNotes/24.2 |publisher=The Document Foundation's Wiki |accessdate=2024-03-24 }}</ref>