Egnyte is a powerful enterprise content platform for secure cloud storage and team collaboration. While Egnyte provides built-in SFTP capabilities for internal users, many businesses need to exchange files with external parties—vendors submitting invoices, contractors delivering assets, B2B partners sending data feeds, or clients providing project materials.
When external parties require SFTP access for automated file transfers, businesses typically face a choice: create Egnyte user accounts for each partner, or establish a dedicated external file exchange layer. Managing Egnyte credentials for every vendor or partner system requires licensing for each user and may conflict with security policies around third-party access to your storage platform.
Couchdrop complements Egnyte by adding a secure external file exchange layer. You create isolated SFTP credentials in Couchdrop that map directly to specific Egnyte folders. External parties connect using standard SFTP clients - or automated systems - and files flow directly into your Egnyte storage without requiring Egnyte user accounts.
In this tutorial, you will connect Egnyte to Couchdrop, create an SFTP user with access to a specific Egnyte folder, and verify external file access. When finished, you will be able to provide partners with SFTP credentials to access to designated folders without requiring Egnyte user accounts, enabling external file exchange while maintaining your existing workflows.
Prerequisites
To complete this tutorial, you will need:
- A Couchdrop account with Admin or Owner permissions. Sign up for a free trial at couchdrop.io.
- A licensed Egnyte account with access to create folders and manage connections
- Your Egnyte domain name (the subdomain portion of your Egnyte URL)
- An SFTP client for testing, such as FileZilla or Cyberduck
Step 1 — Connecting Egnyte to Couchdrop
Before you can provide SFTP access to Egnyte folders, you need to establish a connection between Couchdrop and your Egnyte account. This connection allows Couchdrop to access your Egnyte storage on behalf of your SFTP users.
Log in to your Couchdrop account and navigate to storage connections. Click + Create and select Connect to Storage from the dropdown menu. On the storage selection screen, locate and select Egnyte from the list of available storage providers.
You will be prompted to configure the connection. Provide the following information:
- Connection Name: Enter a descriptive name for this connection, such as
Egnyte Production. This name helps you identify this storage connection in Couchdrop's interface. - Folder Name: Enter how this connection will appear in Couchdrop's virtual filesystem, such as
egnyte-files. This is the folder name your users will see when they connect via SFTP. - Egnyte Domain: Enter only your Egnyte subdomain without
egnyte.com. For example, if your Egnyte URL isacme.egnyte.com, enteracme.
After entering your domain, click Authorize Now. A popup window will open asking you to grant Couchdrop access to your Egnyte account. Sign in with your Egnyte credentials and click Allow Access to authorize the connection.
Once authorization is complete, return to the Couchdrop configuration screen and click Test Connection. Couchdrop will verify it can communicate with your Egnyte account. When the test succeeds, you will see Connection: Online.
If you want to restrict access to a specific Egnyte folder rather than the entire account, use the folder browser to select a subfolder. For example, selecting Shared/Vendor Uploads means SFTP users will only have access to files within that specific folder and its subfolders.
Click Save Settings to complete the connection.
You have now connected your Egnyte storage to Couchdrop. In the next step, you will create an SFTP user account that can access this storage.
Step 2 — Creating an SFTP User for External Access
With your Egnyte storage connected, you can now create dedicated SFTP user accounts for external parties. These accounts will have access only to the Egnyte folders you specify, without requiring internal Egnyte credentials.
In Couchdrop, click + Create and select SFTP User from the menu. The user creation wizard will open.
Configure the following fields:
- Username: Enter a unique identifier for this user, such as
vendor_acme. This is the username the external party will use to connect via SFTP. Choose something meaningful that helps you identify which vendor or partner this account serves. - Home/Root Directory: Click Select a location and navigate to the Egnyte folder you want this user to access. For example, selecting
/egnyte-files/Shared/Vendor Uploadsrestricts this user to only that folder. They will not be able to navigate above this directory or access other Egnyte folders. - Password: Select either Autogenerated Password or Custom Password. If you choose autogenerated, Couchdrop will create a secure random password. For custom passwords, ensure they meet your organization's security requirements.
For this tutorial, leave Public and Automatic RSA Key Creation unchecked unless your vendor specifically requires SSH key authentication instead of password-based access.
Click Create user to generate the account.
On the confirmation screen, you will see all the credentials needed to share with your vendor:
- The SFTP username
- The SFTP password
- The SFTP endpoint URL (typically
sftp://username@yourdomain.couchdrop.io) - SSH keys (if you enabled key creation)
Download and securely save these credentials. They will not be shown again and cannot be retrieved from Couchdrop's interface. You will need to share these credentials with the external party who will be using the SFTP account.
By default, SFTP users have Read, Write, and Delete permissions. If you need to modify these permissions, click Configure as admin on the User screen or locate the user in the Users section and click the three-dot menu next to their name. You can adjust permissions to restrict the user to upload-only, download-only, or remove their ability to delete files.
You have now created an SFTP user account that provides access to your Egnyte storage. In the next step, you will enable FTP access if required, otherwise you can skip to Step 4 and test the connection to verify everything works correctly.
Step 3 — Enabling FTP Access (Optional)
By default, Couchdrop enables SFTP access for all users but disables FTP and FTPS access. SFTP is more secure and recommended for most file transfer scenarios because it encrypts both authentication credentials and file data using SSH. However, some legacy systems or partners may require FTP or FTPS instead of SFTP.
If your external vendor or system specifically requires FTP or FTPS connectivity, you will need to enable these protocols in Couchdrop before they can connect.
To enable FTP access, navigate to Admin Panel in the Couchdrop top navigation menu. Click Features from the Security & Organization section in the sidebar.
On the Features screen, you will see a toggle labeled Disable FTP/FTPs for all users. Uncheck this option to activate FTP and FTPS support for your Couchdrop account.
Once enabled, the setting takes effect immediately. Users with FTP-enabled permissions can now connect using FTP or FTPS in addition to SFTP. The connection details remain the same:
- Host: Your Couchdrop domain (
yourdomain.couchdrop.io) - Port:
21for FTP,990for implicit FTPS - Username: The username created in Step 2
- Password: The password from Step 2
After enabling FTP globally, you need to verify that individual users have FTP access enabled. Navigate to Users in the main menu and locate the user you created in Step 2. Click the three-dot menu next to their name and select Configure as admin.
In the user configuration screen, scroll to the Access Controls section. Ensure the Allow FTP/FTPs checkbox is selected. If it is not checked, select it and click Save at the bottom of the page.
The user can now connect via FTP, FTPS, or SFTP depending on which protocol their system requires.
Note: FTP transmits authentication credentials and file data without encryption, making it inherently less secure than SFTP. Only enable FTP when external systems specifically require it and cannot support SFTP. For secure file transfers, particularly when handling sensitive or regulated data, always prefer SFTP over FTP.
You have now enabled FTP access for external connectivity to Egnyte. In the next step, you will test the connection to verify everything works correctly.
Step 4 — Testing the SFTP Connection
To verify the configuration works as expected, connect to Couchdrop using an SFTP client. This test confirms that the external user can authenticate successfully and access the designated Egnyte folder.
Open your SFTP client (FileZilla, Cyberduck, or another client of your choice). Create a new connection with these details:
- Protocol: Select SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol)
- Host: Enter your Couchdrop domain, which appears in the format
yourdomain.couchdrop.io - Port: Enter
22(the standard SFTP port) - Username: Enter the username you created in Step 2
- Password: Enter the password from Step 2
Click Connect or Quick Connect depending on your client. If prompted about accepting the server's SSH key fingerprint, click Yes or Accept. This is a standard security verification that occurs on first connection.
Once connected, you should see the folder structure you configured as the home directory in Step 2. If you restricted the user to a specific subfolder in Egnyte, that folder will appear as the root directory in the SFTP client.
To verify file operations work correctly:
- Create a test file on your local computer (a simple text file works well)
- Upload the file through your SFTP client to the connected folder
- Log in to Egnyte through your web browser and navigate to the folder you connected
- Confirm the uploaded file appears in Egnyte
If you successfully see the uploaded file in Egnyte, the connection is working correctly. Files uploaded via SFTP are being transferred directly to your Egnyte storage.
Try downloading the file back through the SFTP client to verify bidirectional file transfer works. If you restricted the user to upload-only permissions, the download will fail with a permission denied error, which is the expected behavior.
If you encounter connection errors, verify that:
- The Couchdrop domain is correct (check the SFTP Server section in Couchdrop)
- Port 22 is not blocked by firewalls
- The username and password are entered exactly as shown in the credentials
- The Egnyte connection in Couchdrop shows as active
You have now successfully configured and tested SFTP access to Egnyte through Couchdrop. External parties can use these credentials to securely transfer files directly to your Egnyte storage without requiring internal Egnyte accounts.
Next Steps
In this tutorial, you connected Egnyte storage to Couchdrop and created an external SFTP user account with restricted folder access. You verified the connection works by testing file uploads and downloads through an SFTP client. External vendors, partners, or clients can now securely transfer files to specific Egnyte folders using standard SFTP protocols, without the limitations of Egnyte's native FTP/SFTP implementation.
You can create additional SFTP users for different vendors or partners, each with access to different Egnyte folders and customized permissions. This approach enables secure B2B file exchange while maintaining centralized control over who can access which parts of your Egnyte storage.
To expand this configuration, consider implementing:
- Automated file processing: Set up Transfer Automations to automatically move, rename, or process files when they arrive via SFTP
- Additional authentication methods: Learn about SSH key-based authentication for enhanced security beyond password-only access
- Upload portals: Create Upload Links for ad-hoc file submissions without requiring SFTP software
- Email-based uploads: Configure Mailboxes to automatically save email attachments to Egnyte folders
For more information about managing external user access and permissions, review Managing Users and Groups in Couchdrop.