SecureFX is a file-transfer client for Windows, macOS and Linux that moves files between computers and remote servers and synchronizes folders across them. It combines a graphical file browser with saved server connections, transfer controls and tools for repeating the same transfer job. SecureFX is commercial software with a fully functional 30-day evaluation.
How SecureFX connects to servers
A SecureFX connection starts with the server address and a transfer protocol. SFTP and SCP use SSH, FTPS uses FTP over TLS, and HTTPS connections support WebDAV and Amazon S3. FTP and HTTP are also available for servers that use unencrypted connections.
Quick Connect opens a connection with minimal setup, while saved sessions retain the settings for servers used regularly. The Session Manager organizes these definitions into a tree, and a filter helps locate a particular connection. Several sessions can remain open in grouped tabs. For a server reached through another SSH server, a dependent session can connect to the jump host first.
SSH connections can authenticate with passwords, public keys, keyboard-interactive authentication or Kerberos through GSSAPI. SecureFX also supports X.509 smart cards, including PIV and CAC cards. Saved sessions can refer to a shared credential set, so changing that set updates the stored credentials used by its associated sessions. Server host keys can be viewed, imported and exported separately.
Browsing files and controlling transfers
Local and remote file windows provide the starting and destination folders for a transfer. An editable address bar accepts paths and recalls recent locations, while bookmarks retain frequently visited directories. Wildcard filters narrow the displayed files before selection. Dragging files starts a transfer without entering a separate command for each item.
SecureFX lets users decide how existing destination files are handled: ask for confirmation, always overwrite, never overwrite or overwrite only when the destination is older. A bandwidth limit controls how much of the connection transfers consume, and the parallel-transfer setting determines how many files can transfer at once.
The transfer queue supports pausing and resuming work without cancelling it. Following a broken connection, SecureFX can reconnect and resume interrupted transfers.
Folder synchronization
Synchronization operates on selected folders rather than a manually chosen set of files. SecureFX can work between a local folder and a remote folder, or between two remote systems. Upload, download and mirror options establish the operation, with include and exclude filters controlling which names or file types participate. Wildcards allow a filter to cover a group of files or omit a directory.
The synchronize database stores operations for reuse, including their paths and filter settings. Quick Synchronize brings direction and filtering controls together in one window for an occasional job and can save that configuration for later. A separate synchronized-browsing option pairs local and remote windows with matching directory structures: navigating through one keeps the other at the corresponding location. That browsing control helps select matching folders without itself performing the synchronization transfer.
Remote editing and file permissions
SecureFX can open a file from the remote listing for editing and optionally upload it whenever the local copy is saved.
File-permission controls change server read, write and execute permissions within the connected account’s rights. Permissions can be changed for several files together, and per-site upload settings determine the permissions assigned to newly uploaded files.
SFXCL automation
On Windows and Linux, the included SFXCL command-line utility puts transfers and synchronization into batch scripts. A command can specify source and destination paths or reuse a named session created in SecureFX. SFXCL also lists, renames, moves and deletes files. Its exit status lets a script distinguish a successful operation from a failure and decide what to run next.
Public-key authentication can be configured for automated SFTP and SCP connections. Windows additionally has a built-in scheduler for transfer and synchronization tasks, with one-time, daily, weekly and monthly schedules. SFXCL is unavailable on macOS, and the built-in scheduler is a Windows feature.
SecureCRT integration
When SecureFX and the separate SecureCRT terminal client are installed together through their bundle installer, they can share session settings, global options and the server host-key database. A toolbar command opens the companion application at the active session, allowing file transfers and terminal work to use the same connection definition. The applications can also share passwords and passphrases while either is running.
