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    SFTP Server as a Source
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    SFTP Server as a Source

    • 3 Minutes to read
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    Article summary

    SFTP, or Secure File Transfer Protocol, is a network protocol used for securely transferring files between a client and a server. An SFTP server is a server that supports this protocol, enabling secure and encrypted file transfers over a network, making it a safer and more protected alternative to traditional FTP for data exchange.

    Authorize Connection to SFTP

    To connect SFTP as a data source, make sure to first authorize the connection to your SFTP.

    How to Create a SFTP Data Source

    1. On the Sources page, click on the Create Source button and select the connector from the list.
    2. From the drop-down menu, select your authorizer.
      Didn't find your authorizer?

      Click on Add new Account at the bottom of the drop-down and follow the on-screen prompts. You can also go to the Authorizers tab and click on Add New Service.

    3. Name your data source and fill in the following optional fields:
      1. Drive ID: You can find your ID in the URL after cid=.
      2. Path: Select your directory, folder on input the name manually, e.g. /Documents/.

    Set up Your File

    In the File setup step:

    1. Name your file. You can apply dynamic file naming using predefined patterns. For more details, see Dynamic File Naming Patterns.
    2. Select your File Format. We support the following formats: JSON, CSV, XML, XLXS, PARQUET.
    3. [Optional] You can choose to compress your file.
    4. If you selected the CSV or XLSX file format, you can also configure the following additional settings:
    CSV SettingsDescription
    CSV DelimiterSpecifies the character used to separate values in the file. You can select from the following delimiters: comma ,, semicolon ;, or tab \t, or pipe |.
    Comment[Optional] Lines starting with this character will be treated as comments and ignored during processing (e.g., #).
    CSV Lazy QuotesIf enabled, allows fields with mismatched or unescaped quote characters to be parsed without error. Useful for handling imperfect CSVs.
    CSV HeaderIf enabled, the first row of the file will be treated as the header row (column names). Disable this if your file does not include headers.
    XLSX SettingsDescription
    Sheet[Optional] Specifies the name of the worksheet within the Excel file where the data should be written.
    Sheet Range[Optional] Defines the cell range where data should be placed (e.g., A1:D100). Leave blank to use the full sheet automatically.
    Sheet HeaderIf enabled, the first row in the sheet will be treated as a header (column names). Disable if the sheet should contain raw data only.

    Finish Your Source Configuration

    1. In the Transformation step, you can:
      1. manually edit the transformation pipeline if needed to fine-tune how your data is processed before reaching the destination.
    2. Configure your sync frequency or set the exact synchronization time under Show advanced settings.
    3. Preview your data by clicking on the Test Data button in the top right corner. You can adjust the date range for a more specific time frame.
    4. Click on Save and congratulations, your new data source is ready!

    Troubleshooting

    Data Preview Unavailable

    No data preview when you click on Test Data might be caused by an issue with your source configuration. The most common causes are:

    • Date range: Try a smaller date range. You can load the rest of your data afterward using manual data load.
    • Insufficient permissions: Please make sure your authorized account has at least admin-level permissions.
    • Invalid metrics, attributes, or breakdowns: You may not have any data for the selected metrics, attributes, or breakdowns.
    • Incompatible combination of metrics, attributes, or breakdowns: Your selected combination cannot be queried together. Please refer to the service's documentation to view a full list of metrics that can be included in the same data source.

    Related Articles

    Now that you have successfully created a data source, see how you can connect your data to a dashboarding app or a data storage.

    Sending Data to Dashboarding Apps

    Sending Data to Data Storages

    Other Resources

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