December 10, 2024

Cyberduck is an open-source FTP client and an online file manager that is compatible with FTP, SFTP, Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3, OneDrive and more. You can connect and access these storage services from a single interface with this tool.

Cyberduck home page

It is available for both Windows and Mac and can be downloaded from here. Besides that, you can also purchase it as a Windows Store app from here.

Once installed, launch it.

Cyberduck main interface

Using it is free but for unregistered versions, before exiting it a notification about contributing for supporting the development will be displayed.

donation window before exiting Cyberduck

Let’s take a look at how to use it to connect to FTP servers, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Amazon S3 services. (OneDrive is already integrated with Windows so there is no need to access it using Cyberduck when using Windows).

FTP:

If you’ve used FileZilla, then accessing remote files by FTP using Cyberduck would be familiar. Click on Open Connection to begin. There will be a display window that will require FTP server credentials. Enter them and click Connect.

accessing FTP servers using Cyberduck

Once the authentication is successful, you can then access and browse remote directories and files.

list of files and folders accessed remotely by FTP via Cyberduck

To make a new file or directory, click on File > New Folder or New File. To upload an existing file or directory to the server, choose File > Upload. To update the file and directory listing, select File > Synchronize.

making a new file or folder remotely through FTP using Cyberduck

You can also download these remote directories and files locally by right-clicking on them and choosing Download.

downloading remote files and folders via FTP using Cyberduck

To disconnect, select Go > Disconnect.

disconnecting remote FTP session in Cyberduck

Dropbox:

You can directly access your Dropbox files using Cyberduck. To do that, click on Open Connection. Then, from the drop-down, select Dropbox as the default protocol. There will be no option to enter your Dropbox credentials yet because first you’d need to authorize and link Cyberduck with Dropbox. So simply click Connect.

opening a Dropbox connection using Cyberduck

This will open a browser window. Over there enter your Dropbox credentials and click Sign in.

Dropbox sign-in for Cyberduck

Next, choose Allow to link Cyberduck with Dropbox.

linking Cyberduck with Dropbox

An OAuth code will be generated, copy-paste it in the Cyberduck window and click on Continue.

OAuth code for Dropbox for Cyberduck

entering OAuth code for Dropbox in Cyberduck

Dropbox files and folders will now be visible from Cyberduck.

list of Dropbox files and folders accessed using Cyberduck

Google Drive:

Using Cyberduck to access Google Drive is similar to that of Dropbox. First, open connection and choose Google Drive as the protocol.

opening a Google Drive connection using Cyberduck

Next, in the browser window that opens, enter your Google account credentials.

Google Drive sign-in for Cyberduck

linking Cyberduck with Google Drive

Again, an OAuth code will be generated which has to be copy-pasted in the authorization prompt that appears and hit Continue.

OAuth code for Dropbox for Google Drive

Files and folders from Google Drive will now be accessible from Cyberduck.

list of Google Drive files and folders accessed using Cyberduck

Amazon S3:

To access Amazon S3 buckets using Cyberduck, the method is a bit different. It will require Access Key ID and Secret Access Key to do so.

opening an Amazon S3 connection using Cyberduck

This example shows how a S3 bucket named storagecont in AWS console below can be accessed with Cyberduck.

S3 bucket in AWS console

First, log in to AWS console and click on your account name. Then select My Security Credentials. (A detailed guide on how to use S3 containers can be found here.)

accessing AWS security credentials

Click Create New Access Key.

making a new access key for Cyberduck

Amazon S3 access key generated for Cyberduck

Once the keys are created, copy-paste the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key in the connection box in Cyberduck. Then click Connect.

connecting to Amazon S3 using Cyberduck

The S3 containers will now be accessible from Cyberduck.

S3 bucket accessible from Cyberduck
Bookmarking connections:

You can also bookmark frequently used connections by clicking the bookmark icon (or Ctrl+Shift+B).

adding and managing connection bookmarks in Cyberduck

Previously used connections can also be used from the history icon which is next  to the bookmark icon.

list of previously used connections in Cyberduck

Changing common settings:

To change various settings for Cyberduck, go to Edit > Preferences.

accessing Cyberduck preferences

Over here, you can change the default connection to be used, the bookmark to be used, the location where the downloaded files will be available and more.

changing general Cyberduck settings

configuring transfer settings in Cyberduck

For Amazon S3 buckets, you can change the region too if you are using a different region by changing these settings from S3 menu.

changing S3 settings in Cyberduck

The official website also has a handy PDF cheatsheet which can be downloaded from here that covers various useful shortcuts for using Cyberduck.

Cyberduck reference guide

This is a useful file manager that makes it easy to connect to various cloud storage services as well as FTP connections.

Do try it out.

By admin

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3 thoughts on “How To Use Cyberduck To Connect To FTP Servers, Dropbox, Google Drive And Amazon S3”
  1. This inforamtion can be really useful for all Dropbox and Google drive users. It is the fast and safe way to connect your cloud disk to ftp.

  2. Wow, Thanks for this update. It is quite detailed and understandable.

    Does it mean I cannot run a free trial of this app before donation?

    1. Cyberduck is open source and free so you can use it without donation but for unregistered version there will be a message window that requests you to donate before you exit it everytime.

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