SFTP-SAF a.k.a. Android-SFTP-Document-Provider

This app makes the android default file manager an SFTP client via SAF (Storage Access Franework).

Status

• This package is a clone of Android-SFTP-Documents-Provider by Riccardo Isola

• It fixes some minor issues in the original (unsynchronized multi-thread access to ssh backend, no handling of closed ssh handles), and incompatibilities with current build environments, and adds a number of features (see below)

• Another slightly more recent and more fully featured original package exists: FileManagerUtils: however this was incompatible with current compilation environments too and also had some stability issues, which were harder to fix. So I went with the earlier version

Features

• Account configuration is done using the application's own database, which allows more flexibility than Android's built-in account management (such as, editing existing accounts)

• Added possibility to use a private/public ssh key pair

• Added possibility to specify home directory of sftp user on server.

Installation

Download and install the latest app from the release section

However, you may also compile it yourself:

./gradlew build

Usage / Set up

• On the application's main activity (main page), add a new SSH account (file system root), using the green plus button at the bottom right

• Optionally generate an SSH key pair, share the public key (to e-mail, for example), and place into the ~/.ssh/autorized_keys file on the SFTP server.

• Up to Android 11: Open the Android default file manager and on the left panel you should now see the sftp section where you can connect to the sftp server.

• For some reason, on Android versions newer than 12, the new "Files by Google" filemanager cannot browse to SAF roots. However, the older com.google.android.documentsui file manager is still present, and can browse SAF roots. The only difficulty is, this older file manager now lacks a launch icon. You can however access it from the "Browse files" button in this application's main activity. You may also use the Activity Manager app from F-Droid to make a shortcut to launch com.google.android.documentsui

• SFTP-SAF does work from the Open file dialog of most applications (as long as they use documents' UI, which most applications nowadays do). This works even on Android versions newer than 12.