---
title: "SFTP Server as a Source"
slug: "sftp-server-as-a-source"
description: "Create an SFTP data source effortlessly with Dataddo. Transfer your data from SFTP to any destination securely and at high speed. Connect your data now."
updated: 2026-09-06T20:17:49Z
published: 2026-09-06T20:17:49Z
canonical: "docs.dataddo.com/sftp-server-as-a-source"
excludeFromExternalSearch: true
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dataddo.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# SFTP Server as a Source

**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](/docs/sftp-server).

## How to Create a SFTP Data Source

1. On the **Sources** page, click on the [**Create Source**](https://app.dataddo.com/sources/new) 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**](https://app.dataddo.com/service/new).
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/`.

### Configure 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](/docs/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 Settings | Description |
| --- | --- |
| CSV Delimiter | Specifies 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 Quotes | If enabled, allows fields with mismatched or unescaped quote characters to be parsed without error. Useful for handling imperfect CSVs. |
| CSV Header | If 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 Settings | Description |
| --- | --- |
| 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 Header | If 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](/docs/transformation-pipeline) if needed to fine-tune how your data is processed before reaching the destination.
2. Configure your [**sync frequency**](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/extraction#extraction-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](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/data-backfilling).
- **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***.

### Object to insert too large error message

If your source fails with the `object to insert too large` message, then ensure the transformation section during source creation has only the following:

- `[]`

The field must be empty for you to preview data and save the 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**

- [Simple Data Integration to Dashboards](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/simple-data-integration-to-dashboards)
- [Data Backfilling to Dashboarding Apps](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/data-backfilling-to-dashboarding-apps)

**Sending Data to Data Storages**

- [Batch Ingestion to Data Warehouses](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/ingestion-to-data-warehouses)
- [Data Backfilling to Storages](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/data-backfilling-to-storages)

**Other Resources**

- [Troubleshooting](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/troubleshooting)
- [Extraction Logs](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/extraction-logs)
- [Data Duplication](https://docs.dataddo.com/docs/data-duplication)