HTTP API Endpoint

SFTPPlus can delegate users authentication to external HTTP API endpoints. This allows organizations to integrate their own identity and access management infrastructure.

Custom HTTP API Authentication in SFTPPlus MFT ​

SFTPPlus MFT (Managed File Transfer) can be configured to use a custom HTTP API endpoint to authenticate users, providing a flexible and powerful way to integrate with existing user management systems. This feature allows organizations to leverage their own identity and access management infrastructure, ensuring that user authentication is centralized and consistent across multiple services.

How It Works ​

You can check our documentation page dedicated to HTTP authentication API for a detailed technical description on how to integrate SFTPPlus MFT and your custom HTTP API endpoint.

When a user attempts to connect to SFTPPlus, the SFTPPlus server sends an HTTP request to the designated API endpoint. This request contains the user's credentials (e.g., username and password or SSH key). The API endpoint, which you must develop and host, is responsible for validating these credentials against your own user database.

The following credentials are supported:

  • username & password - For any file transfer protocol
  • username & SSH key - Useful for SFTP and SCP users.
  • username & TLS certificate - Useful for FTPS or HTTPS users.

The API endpoint's response determines the outcome of the authentication attempt. It can either:

  • Reject the authentication: If the credentials are invalid, the API responds with a specific HTTP status code or a defined payload that SFTPPlus interprets as a rejection.
  • Authenticate and configure the user: If the credentials are valid, the API responds with a payload containing the configuration details for the authenticated user.

By dynamically generating this configuration on a per-user basis, the HTTP API can provide granular control over user permissions and access levels. This means different users can have vastly different permissions based on their role or group, all determined by the logic in your custom API. For example, a "partner" user might only have read-only access to a specific directory, while an "administrator" might have full read/write/delete permissions across multiple directories.

Get in touch with our experts for support and consultancy ​

To learn more about implementing custom HTTP authentication endpoints for your specific environment, contact our support team.

With over two decades of experience, our experts have guided countless organizations in building secure transfer solutions and transitioning from legacy systems to modern micro-service based applications and cloud SSO platforms.

We are ready to help you integrate SFTPPlus with your existing infrastructure and achieve your security and operational goals.