Best free FTP program

[boehmb]

What is the best Mac FTP program, preferably free? I have a G4 running 10.3.6 with 1 GB ram. Thanks

[trevor]

GUI ftp: Rbrowserlite http://www.rbrowser.com/RBrowserLite/RBrowserLite.html
GUI sftp: fugu http://rsug.itd.umich.edu/software/fugu/download.html

Of course, the best non-GUI ftp and sftp are both included with OS X on your command line.

Trevor

[vancenase]

if you have fink installed, a quick install and very cool ftp program: lftp

> fink info lftp

lftp-3.0.11-10: Sophisticated command line based FTP client
   lftp is a sophisticated command line based FTP client. It has a
   multithreaded design allowing you to issue and execute multiple
   commands simultaneosly or in the background. It also features
   mirroring capabilities and will reconnect and continue transfers
   in the event of a disconnection. Also, if you quit the program while
   transfers are still in progress, it will switch to nohup mode and
   finish the transfers in the background. HTTP protocol and FTP over
   HTTP proxy are supported. Version 2.3.0 includes HTTPS and FTP over
   SSL support.
 .
 Web site: http://lftp.yar.ru/
 .

it has many cool features, here's an output the commands:

lftp :~> ?
        !<shell-command>                    (commands)
        alias [<name> [<value>]]            anon
        bookmark [SUBCMD]                   cache [SUBCMD]
        cat [-b] <files>                    cd <rdir>
        chmod [OPTS] mode file...           close [-a]
        [re]cls [opts] [path/][pattern]     debug [<level>|off] [-o <file>]
        du [options] <dirs>                 exit [<code>|bg]
        get [OPTS] <rfile> [-o <lfile>]     glob [OPTS] <cmd> <args>
        help [<cmd>]                        history -w file|-r file|-c|-l [cnt]
        jobs [-v]                           kill all|<job_no>
        lcd <ldir>                          lftp [OPTS] <site>
        ls [<args>]                         mget [OPTS] <files>
        mirror [OPTS] [remote [local]]      mkdir [-p] <dirs>
        module name [args]                  more <files>
        mput [OPTS] <files>                 mrm <files>
        mv <file1> <file2>                  [re]nlist [<args>]
        open [OPTS] <site>                  pget [OPTS] <rfile> [-o <lfile>]
        put [OPTS] <lfile> [-o <rfile>]     pwd [-p]
        queue [OPTS] [<cmd>]                quote <cmd>
        repeat [delay] [command]            rm [-r] [-f] <files>
        rmdir [-f] <dirs>                   scache [<session_no>]
        set [OPT] [<var> [<val>]]           site <site_cmd>
        source <file>                       user <user|URL> [<pass>]
        version                             wait [<jobno>]
        zcat <files>                        zmore <files>

very cool = mirror ... works similar to rsync (when you don't have it available)

[edit: i think that's a personal record for the use of 'cool' in a post]

[subscriber3]

best is a value judgement. you need to decide what you want to do, download some trial versions, and test them for yourself.

Would you prefer ftp and sftp in one client? Do you want programs that can be designated as the default handler for ftp:// URLs? There are many other issues that you have to make your own decisions on.

because of what I thought were my simple requirements, I could not use any freeware client, and after testing various programs settled on:

Panic - Transmit 2 - The Ultimate Mac OS X FTP client!
http://www.panic.com/transmit/

the point is that these programs are not interchangeable, and cannot be ranked out on a scale of 1 to 10. each one has its own strongpoints and weak points.

[voldenuit]

OpenSource, free, both ftp and sftp:

CyberDuck

Plus, it has a cute icon .

And if you need to edit files on a remote Unix-machine, the builtin ability of BBEdit to open and save files via (s)ftp is probably something you can't figure out how you have been able to live without.

[boehmb]

Thanks for all the replies. I downloaded Cyberduck form Apple's site and it is just what I wanted. I use Filezilla on my Windows machine, which is just as easy to use.

[chris_on_hints]

fugu works ok for me (see link in the post above). try searching for "ftp" or "ftp client" on versiontracker.com - the site is usually the best first stop for finding what kind of software is available.

[Jamin42b]

I also use transmit, because the built in file editor is awesome

[styrafome]

I have a question about Transmit. Everybody says it's so great, and it's pretty good, but there's one thing I haven't figured out. Say you have a file in a directory on the server and you want to move it to a different directory on the server that is at the same level or above. I can easily do this in other FTP clients by making another window for the server and dragging between the two, but that doesn't seem to work in Transmit. How would this be done in Transmit?

[macmath]

Quote: Originally Posted by vancenase if you have fink installed, a quick install and very cool ftp program: lftp

Agreed! It is the first thing I install when I set up Fink each time. [The reason I say 'each time' is 1) a Mac at home and one at work 2) a drive failure and 3) another drive failure. I had current backups, but I don't backup /sw.] In addition to what was mentioned above, I can type 'rm' to remove instead of the dos-like 'del'. Ok, so that's a minor thing.

[subscriber3]

Quote: Originally Posted by styrafome I have a question about Transmit. Everybody says it's so great, and it's pretty good, but there's one thing I haven't figured out. Say you have a file in a directory on the server and you want to move it to a different directory on the server that is at the same level or above. I can easily do this in other FTP clients by making another window for the server and dragging between the two, but that doesn't seem to work in Transmit. How would this be done in Transmit?

well, I think you select the file, right click, choose "Move..." from the context menu, fill in the destination path, and press return.

you may have to refresh the destination directory to verify that the file has been moved as you wanted.

[styrafome]

Quote: Originally Posted by subscriber3 well, I think you select the file, right click, choose "Move..." from the context menu, fill in the destination path, and press return.

Thank you. I never thought to use that context menu before, and I generally like to use those.

But to have to figure out and then enter the path as text...if that's the only way to move among directories on a host, then for a program that purports to be a friendly GUI, that sucks. (I am not a command-line type of person.)

[vancenase]

i'll put my word in for cyberduck. a cool little program. has the built-in editing feature (and works well with subethaedit, which i just started using today)!