Help:FTP
Help for FTP (File Transfer Protocol) links on English Wikipedia.
Background
FTP links such as ftp:// existed before the invention of the World Wide Web. Prior to the 1990s, it was the ubiquitous method of transferring files between computers over the Internet. As the web gained dominance (http://), FTP was still used by many institutions such as government and universities because of established practices and the cost of changing systems. Many web browsers natively supported the FTP protocol. Nevertheless, FTP has serious shortcomings from a security standpoint. By 2021, most modern web browsers stopped supported the FTP protocol entirely. For most users clicking a ftp:// link will result in a page not found. At the same time many institutions migrated data to https:// .. today the number of FTP servers is declining rapidly.
HTTPS interface
A HTTPS interface (or gateway) is a system in which the FTP server automatically redirects to https:// In this way accessing a ftp:// link from a browser works. Not all FTP servers support an https:// interface.
Pure FTP are ftp:// links that have no interface. They are only accessible with dedicated FTP client software.
Archives
Pure FTP links can not be saved at a web archive like the Wayback Machine or Archive.today.
If the link has or had a HTTPS gateway, it may have been archived with the ftp:// version of the URI - in these cases cite it with {{cite web}}. For the |url= use the https:// version of the link, and for |archive-url= use whatever works, either the ftp:// or https:// version of the archive URL.
Citing FTP links
To cite FTP, follow these steps:
- Check if the FTP has an HTTPS interface. Replace the ftp:// portion with https:// and see if it works. If so, use
{{cite web}}or a related template, with|url=set to the https:// version. - If it doesn't work it means one of two things: the FTP link is "pure" and can only be accessed with an FTP client. Or the FTP link is dead.
- Using a FTP client check if the link is working. If it is working, cite it with
{{Cite FTP}}. - If not working, you have a number of choices: 1. Delete the citation entirely 2. Google around for the same data located elsewhere on the web 3. Log into the FTP site and search for alternative locations within the FTP tree. 4) If all else fails and you still want to retain a non-working FTP link: change it to a
{{Cite FTP}}template add a{{Dead FTP}}following.
FTP client software
See Comparison of FTP client software. Software is available for GUI and command-link, on multiple platforms.