SFTP

Use the SFTP node to exchange files with an SFTP server from a workflow. Typical Shopware uses are dropping a nightly product or stock export for a partner, picking up order files a supplier or EDI provider uploads, and archiving files once they have been processed. There is no vendor API behind it: the node moves file content and delimited rows between your workflow and a server you or your partner control.

Pick an Operation: List files, Read file, Read records, Write file, Move file or Delete file. Every path is resolved inside the Root directory set on the credential when there is one, otherwise it must be absolute. Shape the data before the node with a Field Mapping node; the SFTP node itself only reads and writes.

INFO

Node type: output.sftp · Category: Output

Credentials

INFO

This node uses a sftp credential. Create it under Integrations in Nexus before you configure the node.

1. In Nexus, open Integrations and select SFTP.
2. Enter Host, Port (22 unless your server uses another port) and Username.
3. Pick the authentication method: Password, or Private key with the Private key (PEM) and, if the key is encrypted, its Key passphrase.
4. Choose Discover host key. Nexus connects to the server without sending any credentials and shows the server's Host key fingerprint (SHA256:…). Compare it with the fingerprint your hosting provider or server administrator gives you, then confirm it. The fingerprint pins the server identity: a server presenting a different key is rejected on every later connection.
5. Optionally set a Root directory (for example /upload). All paths in workflows are then relative to it.
6. Choose Test connection to authenticate against the server and verify the pinned host key.

Plain FTP and FTPS are not supported; the server must speak SFTP (SSH).

Operations

• List files listFiles
• Read file readFile
• Read records readRecords
• Write file writeFile
• Move file moveFile
• Delete file deleteFile

Node parameters

Configure this node with these parameters.

Operation

SFTP operation to execute

Transfer duration depends on file size, server speed, and network conditions, and adds to the overall workflow execution time.

• Type: Dropdown
• Required
• Default: listFiles

Options:

• List files listFiles
• Read file readFile
• Read records readRecords
• Write file writeFile
• Move file moveFile
• Delete file deleteFile

Remote Path

Path to the directory to list, or the file to read, write, move, or delete. When the credential sets a root directory, paths are relative to it ("incoming/orders.csv"); otherwise give an absolute path ("/outbound/orders.csv"). Supports {{field}} templating.

• Type: Text
• Required
• Placeholder: incoming/orders.csv

Match Pattern

Glob pattern applied to file names in the listed directory, for example *.csv.

• Type: Text
• Optional
• Default: *
• Shown when Operation is List files

Max Items

Maximum number of directory entries to return.

• Type: Number
• Optional
• Default: 200
• Shown when Operation is List files

Content Encoding

How file content is encoded in the workflow. Use base64 for binary data; text is for character data only.

• Type: Dropdown
• Optional
• Default: text
• Shown when Operation is one of Read file, Write file

Options:

• Text text
• Base64 base64

File Encoding

Character set of the remote file when content is handled as text. NDJSON is always UTF-8 (RFC 8259), so this does not apply to it.

• Type: Dropdown
• Optional
• Default: utf-8
• Shown when Operation is one of Read file, Write file and Content Encoding is Text or Operation is Read records and Record Format is one of CSV, TSV

Options:

• UTF-8 utf-8
• ISO-8859-1 (Latin-1) iso-8859-1
• Windows-1252 windows-1252

Record Format

Format of the delimited file to stream as records.

• Type: Dropdown
• Required
• Default: csv
• Shown when Operation is Read records

Options:

• CSV csv
• TSV tsv
• NDJSON ndjson

Delimiter

Field delimiter character.

• Type: Text
• Optional
• Default: ,
• Shown when Operation is Read records and Record Format is one of CSV, TSV

Has Header Row

Treat the first row as column names and emit records as objects keyed by them.

• Type: Toggle
• Optional
• Default: true
• Shown when Operation is Read records and Record Format is one of CSV, TSV

Max Records

Maximum records per page. Reading resumes from the saved position on the next run.

• Type: Number
• Optional
• Default: 500
• Shown when Operation is Read records

Content

File content as text or base64 per Content Encoding, up to 1 MiB decoded. Larger delimited files are read with Read records; larger binaries are out of scope for this node. Supports {{field}} templating.

• Type: Code / template
• Required
• Shown when Operation is Write file

Write Mode

Create fails when the file already exists; overwrite replaces it. Writes are staged and renamed atomically either way.

• Type: Dropdown
• Optional
• Default: create
• Shown when Operation is Write file

Options:

• Create create
• Overwrite overwrite

Create Directories

Create missing parent directories of the target path.

• Type: Toggle
• Optional
• Default: false
• Shown when Operation is one of Write file, Move file

Target Path

Destination path for the server-side move, resolved by the same rule as Remote Path: relative to the credential's root directory when one is set, absolute otherwise. Supports {{field}} templating.

• Type: Text
• Required
• Placeholder: archive/orders.csv
• Shown when Operation is Move file

Overwrite Existing

Replace an existing file at the target path instead of failing.

• Type: Toggle
• Optional
• Default: false
• Shown when Operation is Move file

Ignore Missing

Succeed when the file to delete does not exist.

• Type: Toggle
• Optional
• Default: true
• Shown when Operation is Delete file

Connect Timeout (seconds)

Timeout for establishing the SSH connection.

• Type: Number
• Optional
• Default: 20

Input and output

Input

Port	Type	Description
Input	any	Input data for remote path and content templating

Output

Port	Type	Description
Output	object	SFTP operation result

The output depends on the operation. List files returns items, one entry per file with its name, path, size and modification time. Read file returns the file content as text or base64 as configured. Read records returns records, one object per row keyed by the header row (or one array per row without a header), plus a flag telling you whether more pages remain. Write file and Move file return a result object for the operation; Delete file reports deleted: false when the file was already gone.

Examples

Drop a daily stock file for a partner

Start with a Schedule Trigger, read the products with a Shopware API Call node, build the CSV text into a field called csv with a Field Mapping node placed directly before this one, and configure:

Parameter	Value
Operation	Write file
Remote Path	outbound/stock-{{$now:date}}.csv
Content	{{csv}}
Content Encoding	Text
File Encoding	UTF-8
Write Mode	Create
Create Directories	true

Import supplier orders from a large CSV

Parameter	Value
Operation	Read records
Remote Path	incoming/orders.csv
Record Format	CSV
Delimiter	;
Has Header Row	true
Max Records	500

Each run reads one page of up to Max Records rows and remembers where it stopped, so a scheduled workflow drains a large file across runs. Add a Move file step to archive/orders.csv once the file has been fully read.

Related resources

• SFTP protocol (OpenSSH)
• OpenSSH: ssh-keygen (creating key pairs)
• SFTP protocol draft (IETF)

What to do if your operation isn't supported

If this node doesn't support the operation you need, use the API Request node to call the service's API directly. Add the authentication headers the service expects and use expressions to pass in data from the trigger or the previous node.

Common issues

• Host key mismatch: the server presents a different key than the one pinned on the credential, either because the server was reinstalled or because something sits between Nexus and the server. Confirm the new fingerprint with the server owner, then discover and pin it again under Integrations.
• Write file fails because the target already exists: Write Mode Create refuses to replace a file. Switch to Overwrite, or put a date or order number in the file name. The same applies to Move file unless Overwrite Existing is enabled.
• File too large: Read file and Write file handle up to 1 MiB of decoded content. Read larger delimited files with Read records, or hand a large binary on unread with Move file.
• Read records only returns the first page: one workflow run processes one page. Run the workflow on a schedule so the cursor advances; a manual run delivers the first page only. If the file is replaced on the server (size or modification time change), reading starts again from the top.
• Read records stops at a malformed row: a ragged CSV line or invalid NDJSON line fails the read at that row; rows before it are delivered. Ask the partner for a corrected file, which resets the cursor.
• Path not found or permission denied: check whether the credential has a Root directory. With one set, paths are relative to it (incoming/orders.csv); without one they must be absolute (/outbound/orders.csv).
• Listing a huge directory fails: List files reads the whole directory before applying Match Pattern and Max Items. Ask the partner to use drop subfolders instead of one directory with hundreds of thousands of entries.