Tutorial · Files over FTP
FileZilla FTP tutorial for your Primcast website
This FileZilla FTP tutorial gets your files onto Primcast web hosting in five steps: create an FTP account in your dashboard, save it in FileZilla's Site Manager with explicit TLS, connect on port 21, then drag your files across.
Once the site is saved, uploading a change is one click to connect and one drag.
- Protocol
- FTP - File Transfer Protocol
- Host
- your server nameFor example ny1.hosting.primcast.com. It is on the FTP tab of your dashboard.
- Port
- 21
- Encryption
- Require explicit FTP over TLSPlain FTP is refused, so this one matters.
- Logon Type
- Normal
- User
- name@yourdomain.comThe full FTP user name, domain included.
The password is the one you chose when you created the FTP account. We do not show it again.
Create an FTP account in your dashboard
FileZilla needs a login of its own. Each FTP account you make is tied to one folder of your hosting account, so you can give a developer access to a single site without handing over everything.
Add the account
- Sign in to your Primcast dashboard and open the Web Hosting tab.
- Pick your hosting account and go to FTP.
- Select Add FTP account and type a user name, such as
deploy. Your domain is added to it, so the login becomesdeploy@yourdomain.com. - Choose a password of at least 10 characters and keep it somewhere safe. The dashboard will not show it again.
- Leave the folder as
public_htmlto upload your main website, or pick another site's folder. Leave it empty to reach your whole home folder. - Select Create account. The login works straight away.
Copy the connection details
Under the list of accounts, the Connection details card shows what FileZilla needs: the host with a copy button, port 21, and the security setting, FTPS with explicit TLS.
The folder you chose is what FileZilla sees as the top folder. If you picked public_html, files you upload to / go straight onto your website.
You can also set an upload limit per account, or switch an account off for a while without deleting it.
No primary domain on the hosting account yet? Add it first. FTP logins are always name@yourdomain, so the dashboard asks for the domain before it creates one.
Install the FileZilla Client
FileZilla Client is free and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. Get it from the project's own site, filezilla-project.org, and pick the Client, not FileZilla Server.
Windows and macOS
Use the official download
Download sites that repackage FileZilla sometimes add software you did not ask for. The official installer may offer an extra program too: read each screen and decline anything that is not FileZilla.
Linux
Install from your distribution
Most distributions carry FileZilla in their own repositories. On Ubuntu and Debian, sudo apt install filezilla installs it.
Save the connection in FileZilla's Site Manager
The Quickconnect bar at the top of FileZilla works for a one-off. Site Manager lets you require encryption and keeps the connection, so every later upload starts with one click.
- Open File and select Site Manager, then New site. Name it after your website.
- On the General tab, set Protocol to FTP - File Transfer Protocol.
- Paste the host from your dashboard into Host and type 21 as the port.
- Set Encryption to Require explicit FTP over TLS. This keeps your password and files encrypted on the way.
- Set Logon Type to Normal, then enter the full user name, such as
deploy@yourdomain.com, and the password. - Leave the Transfer Settings tab on its default, passive mode.
Do not pick SFTP in the Protocol list for web hosting. SFTP is a different protocol that runs over SSH, and hosting accounts take FTP with TLS.
Connect to your hosting account
Select Connect in Site Manager. The message log at the top of the window shows each step, and when it says the directory listing was successful, you are in.
If a certificate window opens
FileZilla may show you the server's certificate the first time. Check that it names your server, the same host you pasted, then tick Always trust this certificate in future sessions and select OK.
Next time
Open the small arrow next to the Site Manager button on the toolbar and pick your site. FileZilla connects with everything you saved.
Upload files with FTP: drag from left to right
FileZilla splits the window into two halves. Your computer is on the left and your hosting account is on the right. Copying a file is a drag from one side to the other.
- index.html8 KB
- images/folder
- style.css14 KB
- /top folder
- images/uploading
- index.html8 KB
- On the right, open the folder you want to fill. With a
public_htmlaccount that is the top folder; with a whole-home account, double-clickpublic_htmlfirst. - On the left, find the files on your computer.
- Drag a file or folder from left to right. Folders go up with everything inside them.
- To send several files at once, hold Ctrl (Cmd on a Mac) and click each one, or hold Shift to pick a range, then drag them together.
- Watch the queue at the bottom. If a file already exists, FileZilla asks whether to overwrite it. Anything that fails waits on the Failed transfers tab, where you can send it again.
Prefer not to install anything? For a quick edit, the Files tab of the dashboard has a file manager that needs no FTP account at all.
FTP upload to your radio station's AutoDJ
Primcast radio stations with AutoDJ take uploads by FTP and SFTP straight into the station's music folder. It suits a pile of new tracks, or a news bulletin your computer sends on a timer.
How it differs from web hosting
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| FTP | Port 21, plain or explicit TLS |
| SFTP | Port 2022 |
| What the login sees | Only your station's music folder |
| Largest file | 2 GB |
What happens after the upload
The AutoDJ and the music library pick up new files on their own, so there is nothing to refresh. Stations moved to us from Centova kept their old FTP login, so an uploader that already worked keeps working.
Ask us in chat for your station's upload login. Five wrong passwords in ten minutes block your address for an hour, so copy the password rather than typing it.
AutoDJ comes with Premium and Platinum. Both start with a 14-day trial. See how AutoDJ works.
When FileZilla will not connect or upload
Read the last red lines of FileZilla's message log, find the closest match below and try the fix beside it.
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| The server says cleartext sessions are not accepted | FileZilla tried plain FTP. In Site Manager, set Encryption to Require explicit FTP over TLS. |
| Login authentication failed | Use the full user name with the domain, like deploy@yourdomain.com. If the password is lost, set a new one with Password next to the account on the FTP tab. |
| Connection timed out | Check the host is the server name from your dashboard and the port is 21. A work or hotel network may block FTP; try another connection. |
| Failed to retrieve directory listing | The login worked but the data connection did not. Keep passive mode on and allow FileZilla through your firewall or antivirus. |
| Your files are not on the website | They went into the wrong folder. The main website reads public_html; check the folder the FTP account opens in on the FTP tab. |
| The login stopped working | The account may be switched off or deleted. Open its Settings on the FTP tab. Files it uploaded stay where they are either way. |
Still stuck? Our AI chat answers in seconds and can check your hosting account with you, and a person from our team takes over whenever you ask.
FileZilla and FTP questions, answered
01How do I upload files with FileZilla?
Connect to your server, open the destination folder in the right-hand pane, then drag files from the left-hand pane, which shows your computer. FileZilla queues them and shows each transfer at the bottom of the window.
02Which port and encryption should I use in FileZilla?
For Primcast web hosting, use port 21 with Encryption set to Require explicit FTP over TLS. Our hosting servers refuse plain, unencrypted FTP, so the default "use explicit FTP over TLS if available" works but the "require" setting is the one to save.
03What is my FTP user name?
It is the name you chose plus your domain, like deploy@yourdomain.com. Type it in full in FileZilla's User field. The FTP tab of the Web Hosting section lists every login with a copy button.
04Which folder do my website files go in?
Your main website is served from public_html. Each other website in the account has its own folder, shown on the Sites page. An FTP account opens in the folder you gave it, so an account set to public_html uploads to the website as soon as you drop files at its top level.
05Can I use SFTP instead of FTP?
Web hosting accounts take FTP with TLS, which encrypts the login and the files just as SFTP does. Radio stations with AutoDJ take both: FTP on port 21 and SFTP on port 2022.
06Is FileZilla free and safe to use?
FileZilla Client is free and open source. Download it from filezilla-project.org rather than a mirror site, decline any extra program the installer offers, and always connect with TLS so your password never crosses the network in plain text.
07How do I upload many files at once?
Drag a whole folder, or select several files with Ctrl (Cmd on a Mac) or Shift and drag them together. FileZilla runs a few transfers side by side and retries from the Failed transfers tab if any of them break off.
08I lost my FTP password. Can you send it to me?
No, nobody can read it, because it is stored only in scrambled form. Set a new one with Password next to the account on the FTP tab, then update it in FileZilla's Site Manager.
Need somewhere to upload your website?
Primcast web hosting gives you FTP accounts over TLS, a file manager, email on your own domain and nightly backups, all from the Web Hosting tab of the dashboard you already use.