ft

README

ft — Git-like FTP/SFTP sync tool

ft lets you upload and download files between your computer and a web server using FTP or SFTP — with simple Git-style commands. No more dragging files in FileZilla or guessing which files changed.

If you have a website on shared hosting (like InfinityFree, Hostinger, etc.) and you're tired of manually uploading every file, ft is for you.

Features

• Git-like commands — init, status, push, pull, log, diff
• FTP + SFTP — works with both protocols
• Concurrent uploads — uploads multiple files at once (faster!)
• Password vault — stores passwords safely in a hidden, rotating folder
• Version snapshots — every push auto-saves a version; revert if something breaks
• Interactive setup — ft setup walks you through everything step by step
• Selective sync — push/pull only specific files if you want
• Dry-run — preview what would change without actually doing it
• Ignore files — use .ftignore to skip certain files (like .env or node_modules)
• Quiet mode — -q for less output

Prerequisites

You need Go 1.26+ installed to install ft.

Installing Go

1. Go to https://go.dev/dl/
2. Download the installer for your system (Windows / macOS / Linux)
3. Run the installer
4. Open a new terminal and type go version to verify it's installed

Minimum requirement: Go 1.26 — older versions won't work.

On Linux you can also use your package manager:

sudo apt install golang-go   # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install go          # Fedora

Install

Once Go is installed, run:

go install github.com/Kelvris/ft@latest

This downloads and compiles ft into ~/go/bin/ft. Make sure ~/go/bin is in your PATH (Go usually adds it automatically).

Verify installation

ft --version

You should see ft v...

Quick start

1. Go to your project folder

cd my-website

2. Run the setup wizard

ft setup

It will ask you:

• Protocol — choose ftp or sftp
• Host — your server address (e.g. ftpupload.net)
• Port — usually 21 for FTP, 22 for SFTP
• Username — your FTP username
• Password — your FTP password (hidden as you type)

Then it connects to your server and shows your remote directories. Navigate into the folder where your website lives (e.g. /htdocs) and press Enter to select it.

Done! Your remote server is now configured as "origin".

3. See what files have changed

ft status

Shows files that are new, modified, or deleted since last sync.

4. Upload your files

ft push

This uploads changed files to your server. Only changed files are uploaded — not everything.

5. Download files from server

ft pull

Downloads files from the server that are newer or different.

6. Check connection

ft ping

Tests if your server credentials work.

Real-world workflow

# You just finished coding on your laptop:
ft status           # check what changed
ft push             # upload to server

# Oops, something broke on the live site:
ft revert           # pick a previous version, restore it
ft push             # upload the old working files

# Someone uploaded something to the server directly:
ft pull             # download it to your laptop

# You want to deploy just one file:
ft push origin admin/fix.php

# You want to test without actually uploading:
ft push --dry-run

Commands

ft init [url]

Creates the .ft/ folder that ft uses to track files. You usually don't need this — ft setup and ft push do it automatically.

ft setup

Interactive wizard. Connects to your server, lets you browse directories, and saves everything as remote origin. Run this once when starting a new project.

ft push [remote] [files...]

Upload changed files to your server.

Flags:
  -j, --jobs int      How many files to upload at once (default 4)
  -n, --dry-run       Show what would change, don't upload
  -p, --password      Prompt for password (ignore saved one)
  -q, --quiet         Less output
      --no-delete     Don't delete files on server
      --include       Only files matching this pattern (repeatable)
      --exclude       Skip files matching this pattern (repeatable)

ft push                         # upload everything
ft push origin admin/*.php      # only upload admin PHP files
ft push --include '*.html'      # only HTML files
ft push --exclude 'uploads/*'   # skip uploads folder
ft push --no-delete             # upload new/changed, but don't remove anything

ft pull [remote] [files...]

Download changed files from your server.

Flags:
  -n, --dry-run       Show what would change, don't download
  -p, --password      Prompt for password
  -q, --quiet         Less output
      --backup        Save a version before pulling (safety net)
      --include       Only files matching this pattern
      --exclude       Skip files matching this pattern

ft status

Shows which files are new, modified, or deleted since the last sync.

ft diff [remote]

Compares your local files against the server. For changed files, it shows a line-by-line diff (like git diff).

ft log

Shows history of past pushes and pulls.

ft ls [remote[/path]]

Lists files and folders on your server. Directories are shown with a / at the end.

ft ping [remote]

Tests the connection to your server and shows how long it took.

ft info [remote]

Shows useful info: how many files are tracked, how many versions saved, connection status.

ft restore <file>

Downloads a single file from the server. Handy when you only need one file back.

ft restore config.php

ft revert [name]

Restores your files to a previous version. If you don't give a name, it shows a list you can pick from.

ft revert              # interactive picker
ft revert 20260528-123456   # revert to a specific version

ft version

Manage saved versions.

Subcommands:
  ls                  List all versions (local + on server)
  save <name>         Save current state as a version manually
  diff <name>         Compare a version against what you have now

Versions are created automatically every time you run ft push. Use ft revert to go back to one.

ft remote

Manage server connections.

Subcommands:
  add <name> <url>       Add another server
  ls                     List all configured servers
  rm <name>              Remove a server
  set-password <name>    Save password for a server
  clear-password <name>  Remove saved password

Ignoring files

Create a file called .ftignore (or .ftpignore) in your project folder. It works like .gitignore:

*.log
node_modules/
uploads/cache/
.env

Files and folders starting with .ft or .git are always ignored automatically.

Password order

ft looks for your password in this order (first one wins):

1. --password flag (you type it each time)
2. FT_PASSWORD environment variable
3. Password saved in the config file
4. Password saved in the vault (ft remote set-password)

If the password comes from the vault, it gets moved to a new random folder after each push/pull (extra security).

How versions work

Every ft push creates a version snapshot automatically. Versions are stored in .ft/versions/<name>/:

• index.json — the list of files and their hashes at that moment
• files/ — copies of the files that were uploaded
• deleted/ — copies of files that were deleted (so you can restore them)

Versions are also synced to your server under .ft/versions/, so you can revert even from a different computer.

License

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 ft

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.