Connecting over SFTP

In July 2018, cPanel upgraded the security for SFTP to require SSH Key Access in addition to a username and password. If you are unable to connect using SFTP please follow these steps:

How to generate a new SSH key:

1. Log into the cPanel.
2. Click SSH Access under Security.
3. 
4. Click Manage SSH Keys. This is where you can delete old keys and generate new ones.
5. Click on + Generate a New Key. This will create both a public and private key.
6. You can set your own password, or generate a super secure one using the Password Generator. It is essential that you keep this password, you will need it for your FTP client.

Once you have your password set, you can generate your keys. You will notice that the Public Key is not authorized. We need to authorize it before we can download and use it.

To authorize the key, click the Manage link.

Now go back again to download the keys. It is a good idea to download both keys. When you click on the View/Download link, you’ll see different screens for each key.

Now that you have generated and downloaded your keys, you are ready to set up your FTP client. Make sure you have the password you generated earlier handy!

Example of SFTP Key File Setup for Filezilla

1. Open the FileZilla Client
2. Open the Site manager.
3. Add your hosting server as the host and 22as the port.
4. Select SFTP-SSH File Transfer Protocol.
5. For the Login Type, select Key File
6. Enter your cPanel username.
7. Upload the Private Key file.
8. Click connect.

You will be asked to convert the file type, select yes.

You will be asked to name the file:

Name the file ida_ra

Click Save

At a few points, you will be asked for a password. This is the password that you generated when you generated the SSH Key. Now you know why it was important to save it!