Frequently Asked Questions

The NearlyFreeSpeech.NET FAQ (*)

Uploading (*)

What is the connection information to upload files to my web site?

How do I upload my content to my site?

Can I access my web site via ssh?

What directory do I upload my web site's files to?

What hostname should I use for SSH/SFTP?

How do I connect to the shell with ssh?

Most people use one of these three options:

Other options also exist, but are substantially less popular:

Once you have found or installed your ssh program, give it your connection information to get connected to your site hosted on our service. If you are using OpenSSH or a similar tool, the command looks something like:

ssh username_sitename@ssh.xyz1.nearlyfreespeech.net

Graphical tools vary widely; consult their documentation.

Once connected, you will get a shell prompt, which may look something like:

[example /home/public]$

Actual prompts can vary widely but tend to end in $ or %. To reflect these variations, in our documentation, we use:

YourPrompt$ echo "Hello, world!"

to indicate that you should type the command echo "Hello, world!" (but not the YourPrompt$ part) at your shell prompt, whatever it looks like.

Due to the variety of ssh options and the complexity of the Unix shell, the full details of their use are well beyond the scope of a FAQ. Many online tutorials exist, like this one. For a deeper dive, many community colleges offer continuing education classes covering one or both topics.

Why do I have to enable FTP in two places to get it to work?

What is SFTP?

Can I configure my ssh connection to use a public key?

I tried to SFTP to ftp.xxx.nearlyfreespeech.net and it failed. Why?

What are the fingerprints for the NearlyFreeSpeech.NET ssh keys?

What do I do if I have problems with FTP?

What if I think the name of your ssh server is too long?

I can connect to NearlyFreeSpeech.NET just fine, so why is your SFTP or ssh server unreachable or timing out?

Is automated FTP access to the system allowed?

Is automated SSH/SFTP access to the system allowed?