SFTP and file uploads

The panel’s file manager is fine for editing a config file. For a world save, a modpack or anything over a few hundred megabytes, use SFTP: it is faster, it resumes, and it does not time out mid-upload.

Get the details from the panel

Open your server in the panel and find SFTP details on the server page. It gives you four things:

Field	Value
Host	us-east-vin-01.hostboi.com
Port	2022
Username	Shown in the panel — copy it, do not guess it
Password	Shown in SFTP details; open a ticket if you cannot see it

Copy the username from the panel. It is generated per server and is not your panel email address or your server name. Pasting a guessed username is the single most common reason a first connection fails.

The protocol is SFTP (SSH file transfer). It is not FTP, not FTPS, and not SCP-with-a-password. If your client offers “SFTP” and “FTP” as separate choices, pick SFTP.

Verify the host key

The first time you connect, your client shows a host key fingerprint and asks whether to trust it. Check it against this value:

ED25519  SHA256:FQW0oCDDI8+G2pKBQYAfozy1qXz047W0MjdvahqpdpQ

FileZilla shows the fingerprint in the “Unknown host key” dialog; WinSCP shows it in the certificate dialog and again under Session → Server/protocol information. If the fingerprint does not match, stop and open a ticket — do not click through.

FileZilla

1. File → Site Manager → New site, and name it after the server.
2. Protocol: SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol.
3. Host: us-east-vin-01.hostboi.com, Port: 2022.
4. Logon type: Normal. User and password from the panel.
5. Connect, then compare the fingerprint as above.
6. The right-hand pane is your server. Drag files in, or right-click → Upload.

WinSCP

1. New Session, File protocol: SFTP.
2. Host name us-east-vin-01.hostboi.com, Port number 2022.
3. Username and password from the panel, then Login.
4. Accept the host key only after checking the fingerprint.
5. Drag files from the left pane (your PC) to the right pane (the server).

Where files go

Every game has its own folder layout, and the folder the game reads is not always the one at the top. Typical examples: a Minecraft world lives under the server directory as world/, a Project Zomboid save lives under the Zomboid/ directory, and most Steam games keep their config next to the server binary.

If you are replacing a world, upload it to the same path the old one occupied — rename the old folder first rather than deleting it, so you have a way back.

A few habits that save time:

• Stop the server before replacing a world or a large mod set. A running server can overwrite the files you just uploaded when it saves.
• Upload an archive, then unpack it in the panel’s file manager if your connection is unreliable; one big file resumes better than ten thousand small ones.
• Do not change file ownership or permissions unless a mod’s own instructions say to. Files uploaded over SFTP already belong to the right account.
• Restart from the console after changing files, and read the console for errors before assuming it worked.

Limits worth knowing

• SFTP is per server. The credentials on one server do not open another.
• SFTP access stops when a service is suspended (for example for an unpaid invoice) and comes back when it is unsuspended. It is not a separate account you can keep using.
• Disk use counts against the plan’s disk allowance; backups do not (see Backups and restores).

When it will not connect

Symptom	Likely cause
Permission denied	Username copied wrong, or password reset in the panel but still the old one in the client.
Connection times out	Port is not 2022, or a local firewall/VPN is blocking outbound SSH.
Host key changed warning	You are connecting to a different host than before. Stop and ask us before accepting.
Connects, then disconnects immediately	The service is suspended, or the server was deleted. Check the billing portal.

• Connecting to your server
• Getting help