FTPMonitor / Guides / SFTP authentication failed

SFTP authentication failed

Why SFTP authentication fails and how to fix password or SSH key issues.

Diagnose this automatically

Verify whether authentication is the actual failure point.

terminal
npx ftpmonitor check --protocol sftp --host sftp.example.com --port 22 --username user --password pass
Shareable output
terminal
npx ftpmonitor check --protocol sftp --host sftp.example.com --port 22 --username user --password pass --format slack --copy

Prefer the browser? Run the same check on the homepage.

Authentication failures occur when the SFTP server rejects the login credentials.

Common causes

  • Incorrect password
  • Missing SSH key
  • Invalid key permissions
  • Account restrictions

Fix checklist

  1. Verify username and password.
  2. Confirm SSH key is installed server-side.
  3. Check permissions on ~/.ssh directory.
  4. Confirm IP allowlist restrictions.
FTPMonitor Help

Still stuck? We can help diagnose and fix it.

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