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SFTP

Configure an SFTP server as external storage for your backups.

Portabase can push backups to any server reachable over SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol). This is a good fit when you already have an SSH-accessible host (a NAS, a VPS, or a dedicated backup box) and want to keep backups on infrastructure you control.

Prerequisites

  • An SFTP/SSH server reachable from the Dashboard.
  • A user account on that server with write access to the target directory.
  • Either a password or an SSH private key for that account.

Configuration on the dashboard

In Storage > Channels, click + Add Storage Channel and choose SFTP.

Fill in the connection fields:

FieldRequiredDescription
Channel NameYesA label for this channel in the dashboard (e.g. SFTP Channel).
HostYesHostname or IP of the SFTP server (e.g. backup.example.com).
PortNoSSH port. Defaults to 22.
UsernameYesThe SSH user (e.g. deploy).
PasswordNoAccount password. Provide a password or a private key (or both).
Private key (PEM)NoThe SSH private key in PEM/OpenSSH format, starting with -----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----.
Remote pathNoOptional prefix on the server. Backups are stored under backups/YYYY-MM-DD/ beneath it.

You must provide a password or a private key (or both). Key-based authentication is recommended.

Click Test Storage to verify the connection, then Add Channel to finalize.


Verification

  1. Log into the web UI.
  2. Trigger a manual backup on an agent using this channel.
  3. Connect to the SFTP server and confirm the backup file exists under the remote path (backups/YYYY-MM-DD/).

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