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I've got a server running Ubuntu 10.04. I've already gotten openssh for ssh and sftp on it.

I've been looking for a web-based (http, or preferably https) file server, perhaps a web-front-end to an (S)FTP server, that allows access to a specific folder, and also allows uploads. It requires user authentication, preferably using PAM.

This web-based solution is for users that are not allowed to use FTP software / browser extension and don't have flash / java browser plugins within their corporate environments.

So far I have looked into:

  • Webmin: Includes a file manager, however it uses Java, and I'm looking for a plugin-free implementation.
  • Apache2: I was able to set up https and PAM authentication, but the barebone implementation doesn't include file upload (as far as I'm aware of).
  • HFS: Haven't tried it out because it is for Windows/wine only, and I don't want to run it under wine.
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3 Answers 3

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I have kept on researching, and found 4 good web-ftp implementations:

All work great with apache2 (with https), and proftpd (used for it's great PAM integration and ease of use). However the last two are a bit old and their designs are not the prettiest. and net2ftp has a huge banner with its name as well as a "complicated" login screen, with many options that a simple user doesn't need. That's why I'm currently using AjaXplorer.

If perhaps anyone else got great web-ftp scripts for apache2, please recommend them!

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  • A lot of these clients are now stale, but there's still huge demand for web-based FTP. Have a look at Monsta FTP. It's an FTP/SFTP web-based client and code editor. It's free to download from monstaftp.com (disclaimer: I'm involved with this project)
    – Daniel Williams
    Jul 21, 2017 at 23:37
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If you need read/write, it sounds like you're looking for Apache (or Nginx) and Webdav. If you only need read-access, you can just serve directory listings from the webserver itself.

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  • Thank you for your response. As far as I can see, WebDAV requires using standalone clients or browser extensions to connect properly, i.e. to have full upload capability.
    – Michael
    Apr 2, 2012 at 9:19
  • Most OSes have built-in support for connecting to read/write DAV shares.
    – Jeremy Kerr
    Apr 2, 2012 at 9:38
  • @Michael I know that Nautilus, Windows Explorer and OSX's Finder can all connect to webdav shares, out of the box.
    – Oli ♦
    Apr 2, 2012 at 9:58
  • @Oli and Jeremy Kerr: Thanks for the responses! I'm not sure whether it is possible to access WebDAV behind a corporate firewall. Thus far I've had a Web-ftp server on Windows, accessible easily from every browser, and I don't want to overwhelm the end-user with something new. And every firewall allows ports 80 and 443.
    – Michael
    Apr 4, 2012 at 8:59
  • @Michael Webdav uses HTTP over port 80. It's by far the most firewall-friendly file-transfer protocol there is.
    – Oli ♦
    Apr 4, 2012 at 9:56
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I Just found this also, it looks very promising...

http://ubuntuguide.net/http-server-support-uploading-files-from-windows-in-ubuntu

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