Starting FileZilla/FileZilla Pro

1125 November 19, 2020
    There are two basic ways to start FileZilla/FileZilla Pro:

    • From a link on your computer’s desktop or Start Menu.
    • From the command line

    Starting FileZilla/FileZilla Pro from the Desktop or Start Menu

    The FileZilla Pro icon looks like this:

    The FileZilla icon looks like this:

    Windows

    During the installation process, you chose the Start Menu folder to include a link to FileZilla/FileZilla Pro.

    If you’re using Windows 8 or above, click on the Start Menu and type ‘filezilla’ to find the link.

    If you selected Desktop icon as one of the components to install, an icon will be available on your desktop.

    MacOS

    If you followed the installation instructions exactly, FileZilla/FileZilla Pro will be accessible from your
    taskbar. You can also click on your Applications icon and scroll until you find the FileZilla Pro icon.

    Starting FileZilla Pro from the Command Line

    You can use the following command line parameters when starting FileZilla/FileZilla Pro:

    • URL: must be in the form [protocol://][user[:pass]@]host[:port][/path]. Valid protocol specifications:
      • ftp
      • sftp
      • ftps (implicit)
      • ftpes (explicit)
      • s3

    • -l, –logontype: type of login in use on the server. Options available:
      • ask
      • interactive

      Note:This parameter requires the URL parameter. FileZilla/FileZilla Pro will ask for any logon information not supplied in the FTP URL before connecting. Useful for custom scripts or shortcuts.

    • -s, –sitemanager: start with Site Manager window displayed.

      • Note: This parameter may not be used with the -c or URL parameters.

    • -c, –site: Connect to a site previously configured in the Site Manager. Site name requirements:

      • Site has to be given as complete path, with a slash as separation character.

      • Any slash or backslash that is part of a segment has to be escaped with a backslash.

      • Path has to be prefixed with 0 for user defined entries or 1 for default entries.

      • Site path may not contain double quotation marks.

    • -a, –local: Sets the local site to display the given path. (Requires version 3.7.1-rc1 or higher). Use double quotation for paths with spaces in them.

    • –close: Closes all running instances of FileZilla. (Windows only)

    • –verbose: Verbose log messages from wxWidgets.

    • -v, –version: Print version information to stdout and exit.

    Examples

    filezilla --site="0/foo/bar/sl\/ash"
    Connects to the user site sl/ash in the site directory foo/bar.

    filezilla --site="0/site1" --local="C:\site1 downloads"
    Connects to the user site site1 and sets the local folder to C:\site1 downloads.

    filezilla ftp://username:password@ftp.example.com --local="C:\example.com downloads"
    Connects to example.com URL and sets the local folder to C:\example.com downloads.