FTP Client #
OpenBSD ships with an FTP client, called ftp, in its base installation. Aside from the standard ftp client, other clients such as lftp and ncftp are also available. Which FTP client is best depends on the use case and the server the client is communicating with.
| Feature | OpenBSD FTP | NcFTP | lftp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protocol Support | FTP | FTP | FTP, SFTP, HTTP, HTTPS, FISH, BitTorrent |
| Bookmarking Sites | No | Yes | Yes |
| Resuming Transfers | No | Yes | Yes |
| Batch Processing | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mirroring/Synchronization | No | No | Yes |
| Retry Operations | No | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Scripting | No | Limited | Extensive |
| Anonymous Access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Security Features | Basic authentication | Basic authentication | Strong encryption and authentication |
| Transfer Protocol Extensions | No | No | Yes |
| Customizable Commands | No | No | Yes |
| Speed Limiting | No | Yes | Yes |
ncftp #
NcFTP is a versatile and user-friendly FTP client designed to facilitate file transfers over the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Developed by Mike Gleason and first released in 1990, NcFTP was created to provide a more intuitive and powerful alternative to the standard UNIX FTP client. It offers enhancements over traditional FTP clients with features such as progress meters, filename completion, command-line editing, background processing, auto-resume downloads, bookmarking, cached directory listings, host redialing, working with firewalls and proxies, and downloading entire directory trees.
Use pkg_add to install ncftp
doas pkg_add ncftp
lftp #
lftp is a command-line FTP client designed for Unix and Unix-like systems known for its extensive feature set, lftp supports a variety of network protocols, including FTP, SFTP, HTTP, HTTPS, HFTP, FISH, and BitTorrent. lftp was developed by Alexander Lukyanov and first released in the 1990s.
use pkg_add to install lftp
doas pkg_add lftp