Supported FTP Commands

• ABOR
  
• APPE
  Short for APPEnd.
  
• CDUP
  Short for Change Directory UP, this command is used to move the client's "location" on the server up one level in the filesystem hierarchy.
  
• CWD
  Short for Change Working Directory.
  
• DELE
  Short for DELEte, this command is used by the client to tell the server to delete a file.
  
• FEAT
  Short for FEATures, this command is used by the client to request a descriptive list of server-supported features.
  
• HELP
  
• LIST
  
• MDTM
  Short for MoDification TiMe, this command is used by the client to request the modification time of a file on the server. This command is not defined in any formal RFCs (yet), but is a commonly implemented FTP command. Note that this command cannot be used to change the modification time of the file on the server; it only reports on the file's modification time.
  
• MKD
  Short for MaKe Directory.
  
• NLST
  Short for Name LiST.
  
• NOOP
  Short for NO OPeration. This command has no functionality, and is often used as a session keepalive mechanism.
  
• OPTS
  Short for OPTionS. This command is used to specify optional parameters for the command to follow the OPTS command, if that command supports such optional parameters.
  
• PASS
  Short for PASSword, the client uses this command to convey the password of the user attempting to log into the server.
  
• PASV
  Short for PASsiVe, the client uses this command to ask the server for a port to which the client should connect, indicating a passive data transfer.
  
• PORT
  The client uses this command to tell the server to what client-side port the server should contact; use of this command indicates an active data transfer.
  
• PWD
  Short for Print Working Directory.
  
• QUIT
  
• REST
  Short for RESTart, this command is used by the client to tell the server that it would like to restart a previous data transfer, either upload or download.
  
• RETR
  Short for RETRieve, this command is used by the client to inform the server of the file the client would like to download. On many FTP client, this is implemented using the client-specfic "get" command.
  
• RMD
  Short for ReMove Directory, this command is used to have the server delete the requested directory from its filesystem.
  
• RNFR
  Short for ReName FRom.
  
• RNTO
  Short for ReName TO.
  
• SITE
  This command is used for site-specific commands. See below for descriptions of proftpd's SITE commands.
  
• SIZE
  
• STAT
  
• STOR
  Short for STORe, this command is used by the client to tell the the server that the client will be uploading data for a file to stored on the server using the filename given. On many FTP clients, this is implemented using the client-specific "put" command.
  
• STOU
  Short for STOre Uunique, it requests that the file being stored on the server be given a unique filename. The server chooses the unique name for the stored file, and reports the name chosen back to the client. On some FTP clients, this ability is enabled using the client-specific "sunique" command.
  
• SYST
  
• TYPE
  
• USER
  An FTP client uses this command to inform the server of the name of the user requesting an FTP session
  
• SystemLog directive is not necessarily confined to inetd mode servers. If you are interested in letting your standalone server run unattended and want to have that debugging information in the log file, use SystemLog and add -d5 (or whatever your preferred debug level is) to the server startup script.

  As of version 1.2.8rc1, ProFTPD supports a DebugLevel configuration directive. This lets you set a debugging level in your proftpd.conf file, without needing to edit inetd.conf or xinetd configuration file.

  Locate Log Files
  A common response on the mailing lists to a posted question is: "What do your server logs say?" Locating the server's log files can be troublesome, depending on your configuration. If the SystemLog configuration directive is in effect, you know exactly where the server's log file is. If not, then by default the server uses syslog for logging. The location of syslog'd log files is set in your system's /etc/syslog.conf file. You may need to read your system's man pages for syslog.conf or syslogd to understand the format of that file. Note that the server will log using a syslog facility of daemon (and level debug when debugging) for most of its messages; during authentication, messages are logged using the authpriv facility.

  Common Problems
  One common question is: "I changed the configuration file, but the new configuration is not being seen!" The solution depends on your configured ServerType. Almost certainly it will be standalone, as inetd-mode servers pick up configuration changes almost instantly (the server is started from the ground up for each connection). For configuration changes to be seen by a standalone server, you need to either stop, then start the server (the hard way), or to send the HUP signal the the daemon process.

  Another common question involves use of ProFTPD's <Limit> directive to restrict certain FTP commands. These limits always function in addition to the normal filesystem permissions,