Java

Open a Remote Directory on an SFTP Server

Demonstrates the Chilkat SFtp.OpenDir method, which opens a remote directory and returns a handle for reading its entries. The only argument is the directory path. Close the handle with CloseHandle when finished.

Background: Listing a directory in SFTP is a handle-based operation, mirroring file access: open the directory to get a handle, read its entries, then close it. The handle is passed to ReadDirListing to retrieve the names and attributes. As with file handles, the directory handle is a server-side resource that should be closed to avoid exhausting the server's limits.

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import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.ChilkatException;
import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.SFtp;

public class ChilkatExample {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Demonstrates the SFtp.OpenDir method, which opens a remote directory and returns a handle for
        // reading its entries.  The only argument is the directory path.

        SFtp sftp = new SFtp();

        // Connect, authenticate, and initialize the SFTP subsystem.
        int port = 22;
        try {
            sftp.connect("sftp.example.com", port);
        } catch (ChilkatException e) {
            System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText());
            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";

        String handle;
        try {
            sftp.authenticatePw("mySshLogin", password);

            sftp.initializeSftp();

            // Open the remote directory.  OpenDir returns a handle string.
            handle = sftp.openDir("subdir");
        } catch (ChilkatException e) {
            System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText());
            return;
        }

        System.out.println("Opened directory, handle = " + handle);

        // The directory entries are read with ReadDirListing using this handle.

        // Close the handle when finished.
        try {
            sftp.closeHandle(handle);
        } catch (ChilkatException e) {
            System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText());
            return;
        }

        sftp.disconnect();
    }
}