# Access files from other devices > Connecting to your shared folders from Windows, macOS, Linux and phones over SMB, SFTP, WebDAV and FTP. Source: https://pithyx.org/docs/user/file-access/ Markdown: https://pithyx.org/docs/user/file-access.md Besides the Files app, your shared folders can be opened from other computers and devices as a network drive or through a file transfer program. Pithyx offers four ways: SMB, SFTP, WebDAV and FTP. You sign in with your Pithyx user name and password. Ask an administrator which of them are switched on for you. In the steps below, `` is the name or IP address you use to open the desktop, for example `192.168.1.50`. ## Which protocol to use ![Settings, File services, with SFTP off, WebDAV on, FTP off and the addresses to connect to, such as sftp://pithyx and https://pithyx:7484/webdav/](../../../../assets/screenshots/file-services.webp) _An administrator switches the file services on in Settings > File services; each card shows the address to use._ | Protocol | Use it for | Notes | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **SMB** | A network drive on Windows, macOS and Linux for everyday work | Needs SMB 3. Older systems cannot connect. Previous versions and the recycle bin work. | | **SFTP** | Encrypted transfers with a program such as FileZilla or WinSCP, or the `sftp` command | You see only your home and shared folders and get no shell. Password sign-in only. | | **WebDAV** | Programs and file managers that can mount a web folder | Address: `https://:7484/webdav/` | | **FTP** | Devices that know neither SFTP nor WebDAV, such as scanners | Only passive mode. Encrypted with TLS; plain FTP only if an administrator allows it. | > **Caution:** > > The desktop and WebDAV use HTTPS. Windows and macOS mount WebDAV only once the computer trusts the box's root certificate; an administrator finds it in Settings > **Certificates**. Everyone sees only the shared folders their rights allow, with the access level an administrator gave them: no access, **Read** or **Read and write**. Administrators reach every shared folder. ## Your home folder Besides the shared folders, every user has a private home folder that only they and the administrators can open. It is the share `home` over SMB (`\\\home` on Windows, `smb:///home` on macOS and Linux) and the folder `home` at the top over SFTP, WebDAV and FTP. Administrators also find every user's home in the share or folder `homes`. Files you delete in your home go to its recycle bin, except in the SMB share `homes`, where they are gone at once. See [Home folders](https://pithyx.org/docs/admin/home-folders/). Two-factor sign-in does not apply here. These services ask for your password only. ## Windows **SMB (network drive)** 1. Open File Explorer. 2. Click the address bar, type `\\\` and press **Enter**. 3. Sign in with your Pithyx user name and password when asked. Tick the option to remember the credentials if you like. 4. Your shared folders appear. To keep one as a drive letter, right-click it and choose **Map network drive**. The box does not announce itself on the network, so it does not appear under **Network** in Explorer. Always type the address. In Explorer, **Previous versions** shows the daily restore points of a shared folder. Files you delete land in the recycle bin of the shared folder, and you can restore them in the Files app. **SFTP and FTP:** install a program such as FileZilla or WinSCP and connect to ``. **WebDAV:** in File Explorer, right-click **This PC**, choose **Map network drive** and enter `https://:7484/webdav/`. Windows connects only once it trusts the box's root certificate. If it still refuses, use SMB or a WebDAV program instead. ## macOS **SMB (network drive)** 1. In Finder, choose **Go**, then **Connect to Server**. 2. Type `smb:///` and click **Connect**. 3. Sign in with your Pithyx user name and password. **SFTP:** Finder cannot browse SFTP. Use an SFTP program and connect to `sftp://`. **WebDAV:** in **Connect to Server**, enter `https://:7484/webdav/`. macOS connects once it trusts the box's root certificate. **FTP:** use a program that supports FTP with TLS, and choose "explicit FTP over TLS". ## Linux **SMB:** most file managers accept `smb:///` in the address bar. On the command line you can mount with `mount -t cifs` and `vers=3.0`. **SFTP:** use `sftp://` in your file manager, or run: ```sh sftp @ ``` SFTP accepts passwords only. Public keys are not used for SFTP users. **WebDAV:** a file manager with WebDAV support accepts `davs://:7484/webdav/`. **FTP:** use a client with explicit FTP over TLS, such as `lftp`. ## Phones There is no special app. Any app that speaks SMB 3, SFTP, WebDAV or FTP with TLS can connect with the settings above. Or use the desktop itself: it works in a phone browser, including the Files app. See [The desktop](https://pithyx.org/docs/user/desktop/#phones-and-tablets). For FTP, the box has its own certificate. Your program asks once whether to trust it. Compare the fingerprint it shows with the **Certificate fingerprint (SHA-256)** that an administrator can read in Settings, under **File services**. FTP listens on port 21 and passive data connections use ports 50000 to 50099. ## Signing in - Use your Pithyx user name (in lower case) and password. - Your account needs the right for the protocol: **SMB (network drives)**, **SFTP**, **WebDAV** or **FTP**. New users get the SMB right by default. An administrator gives you the others. - Your account must be active. - **SMB and SFTP:** if a connection with the right password is refused, sign in once on the web desktop, or ask an administrator to set a new password for you. The services learn your password that way. - After five wrong attempts for the same user name from the same address within five minutes, further attempts are paused for a short time. - Files you create belong to your account on the box. You cannot change permissions from Windows. - If a protocol is switched off, you cannot connect with it. An administrator turns services on in Settings, under **File services**. See [File services](https://pithyx.org/docs/admin/file-services/). If something does not work, the usual causes are a missing right, a deactivated account, or a protocol that is switched off.