SFTP Download

SFTP Download

Type: sftp-download  ·  Package: SFTP Activities v1.1.0  ·  Output: string

Downloads a file from the SFTP server to the robot’s machine. To collect files an external system leaves on the server: bank reports, vendor data, exchange files.

How it works

Copies the file at remotePath (server) to localPath (robot’s machine, including the name) and returns the local path:

• Missing local folders are created.
• If the local file already exists, it is replaced completely by the downloaded one. Since version 1.1.0 (before, if the previous file was larger, its trailing bytes remained).
• The download is first written to a temporary file in the same folder and renamed when it finishes: if it fails (for example, the remote file does not exist), the file that was at localPath stays intact and no partial file is left.
• The remote file is not modified: to archive it use SFTP Move / Rename.

Required parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
remotePath	string	—	Path of the remote file to download.
localPath	string	—	Local destination path, with the file name.

Optional parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
session	ZoanSftpSession	—	Session from SFTP Connect. Inherited inside a body.

Output

Returns a string with the local path of the downloaded file (the same value as localPath).

Common errors

Message	Cause and fix
'remotePath' is required. / 'localPath' is required.	The parameter is missing or the expression returned null.
'session' must be a ZoanSftpSession.	The activity is outside the SFTP Connect body and received no session.
Server error: file not found	remotePath does not exist. Check it first with SFTP Exists or take paths from SFTP List Directory.
Local path access error	The robot cannot write to localPath, or the file is open in another program.

Example

Download all CSV files of a remote folder and archive them on the server:

SFTP Connect   host = "sftp.vendor.com"   username = "zoan"   password = credential("sftp-vendor")["password"]
 └─ body:
      SFTP List Directory   remotePath = "/outbound"   pattern = "*.csv"   → output: files
      For Each   items = files   itemVariable = item
       └─ activities:
            SFTP Download        remotePath = item["fullName"]   localPath = pathJoin("C:/downloads", item["name"])   → output: localFile
            Read CSV             path = localFile   → output: data
            SFTP Move / Rename   sourcePath = item["fullName"]   destinationPath = "/outbound/processed/" + item["name"]

Related activities

• SFTP List Directory — find out which files are available to download.
• SFTP Upload — the reverse operation.