Get a Remote File's Size as a String

See more SFTP Examples

Demonstrates the Chilkat SFtp.GetFileSizeStr method, which returns a remote file's size in bytes as a decimal string. The arguments are the remote path (or handle), whether symbolic links are followed, and whether the first argument is a handle.

Background: Returning the size as a string sidesteps integer-width limits entirely, so it is the safe choice for files of any size — multi-gigabyte archives, disk images, database dumps. It is also convenient in programming languages that lack a native 64-bit integer type. When you need to do arithmetic on the value, parse the string; when you only need to display or log it, the string is ready to use.

Chilkat C# Downloads

Download Chilkat for C#

bool success = false;

//  Demonstrates the SFtp.GetFileSizeStr method, which returns a remote file's size in bytes as a
//  decimal string.  The 1st argument is the remote path (or handle), the 2nd selects whether
//  symbolic links are followed, and the 3rd indicates whether the 1st argument is a handle.

Chilkat.SFtp sftp = new Chilkat.SFtp();

//  Connect, authenticate, and initialize the SFTP subsystem.
int port = 22;
success = sftp.Connect("sftp.example.com",port);
if (success == false) {
    Debug.WriteLine(sftp.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

//  Normally you would not hard-code the password in source.  You should instead obtain it
//  from an interactive prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
string password = "mySshPassword";

success = sftp.AuthenticatePw("mySshLogin",password);
if (success == false) {
    Debug.WriteLine(sftp.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

success = sftp.InitializeSftp();
if (success == false) {
    Debug.WriteLine(sftp.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

//  The 2nd argument (bFollowLinks) selects whether a symbolic link is followed to its target.
//  The 3rd argument (bIsHandle) is false here because the 1st argument is a path, not an
//  open handle.
bool bFollowLinks = true;
bool bIsHandle = false;

//  A string return avoids the 32-bit overflow that GetFileSize32 would have for very large files.
string fileSize = sftp.GetFileSizeStr("subdir/hugefile.dat",bFollowLinks,bIsHandle);
if (sftp.LastMethodSuccess == false) {
    Debug.WriteLine(sftp.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

Debug.WriteLine("File size: " + fileSize + " bytes");

sftp.Disconnect();