Transferring your FileZilla and SSH settings to a new system


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Roland Taylor
published March 20, 2019, 12:58 a.m.


This is more or less entry level information, but it should still be handy for those who don't know.

After a recent hard drive crash, I realized that I'd have to set back up my FileZilla settings and SSH keys all over again! I was a bit bummed out at the thought of it. But, fortunately, it so happens that you can indeed transfer your SSH keys (settings were less of a concern for me) between systems!

In this post I'll tell you how.

SSH Keys:

It's super simple, you just need to be sure to set your permissions correctly.

  • First, copy the contents of ~/.ssh from your old drive to your new drive.
  • Next, using the terminal, run: chown user:user ~/.ssh/* (replace "user" with your username).
  • Now, run chmod 600 ~/.ssh/*, followed by chmod 644 ~/.ssh/*.pub. These commands will set the necessary permissions on your SSH keys.

Special thanks to ændrük for this Ask Ubuntu answer.

FileZilla settings:

Copy the contents of ~/.config/filezilla from your drive to your new drive (under the same path). That's all you need to do! After this, when you log into your server(s) you will be asked if you trust the server you're connecting to (as the new system would not have "talked" to the server before). Just tell FileZilla yes, and be on your merry way :)!

Of course, if you have any bookmarks, you will need to open the bookmark manager and adjust the local paths to match any updated paths on your new system.

And that's it! You're all set and ready to go again! Happy uploading!