CkPython

Set FTP Command and Directory-Listing Charsets

Demonstrates the CommandCharset and DirListingCharset properties, which control how non-ASCII text is encoded in commands (including remote paths and filenames) and how directory-listing responses are decoded.

Background: FTP predates Unicode, so servers vary in how they encode filenames; getting non-ASCII names right means matching the server's encoding on both sides. CommandCharset (default ANSI) governs outgoing paths and filenames, while DirListingCharset governs decoding of LIST/NLST/MLSD replies. Modern servers typically use UTF-8 — often negotiated automatically via OPTS UTF8 ON — but setting these explicitly resolves mojibake with servers that do not advertise it.

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import sys
import chilkat

success = False

ftp = chilkat.CkFtp2()

ftp.put_Hostname("ftp.example.com")
ftp.put_Username("myFtpLogin")

#  CommandCharset is the encoding used for commands containing non-ASCII text, including remote
#  paths and filenames.  The default is ANSI; set utf-8 when the server uses UTF-8 filenames.
ftp.put_CommandCharset("utf-8")

#  DirListingCharset is used only to decode directory-listing responses (LIST, NLST, MLSD).  It
#  does not affect commands or paths.
ftp.put_DirListingCharset("utf-8")

#  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.
ftp.put_Password("myPassword")

success = ftp.Connect()
if (success == False):
    print(ftp.lastErrorText())
    sys.exit()

#  Non-ASCII remote paths and listings are now encoded/decoded as UTF-8.
listing = ftp.getTextDirListing("")
if (ftp.get_LastMethodSuccess() == False):
    print(ftp.lastErrorText())
    sys.exit()

print(listing)

success = ftp.Disconnect()
if (success == False):
    print(ftp.lastErrorText())
    sys.exit()