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Dead-simple FTP server for Windows? [closed]

David Richardson |

I Googled for it, tried a few of them, but I find that even the simplest I found () is way too complicated.

I just need this:

  • single EXE or portable (ie. no installer, just unzip -> run)
  • the root directory is where the server EXE lives
  • any use can connect and read/write. No need for user accounts. This is for a test lab as an alternative to setting up Samba on a Linux host.

Does someone know of an application that does this? I'm looking for the FTP equivalent of the Mongoose web server.

Thank you.

Edit: Thanks for the feedback. I found one that just works, FTPdmin, although it runs in a DOS box instead of providing a basic GUI. Unless someone knows of a GUI alternative, I'll just use that application.

Edit: Here's how to launch sfk (Swiss File Knife):

sfk165.exe ftpserv -verbose -rwany

Note:

  1. sfk works in active mode; the client must type "passive" to switch to passive mode
  2. Even with "-verbose", there's no real-time indication that a big download is running as expected.

Edit: I took a look at the other suggestions. Small HTTP and Quick ‘n Easy FTP Server Lite have too many features (including having to create user accounts), and CrushFTP is Java-based. Looks like there's no no-thrill, single-user, GUI-based FTP server for Windows, so FTPdmin/sfk are the only options for a really simple FTP server.

Edit: The winner is... Baby FTP Server.

3

10 Answers

This one is definitely portable:

Here is another option that is not portable:

6

Have you evaluated the native FTP Server feature?

enter image description here

I doubt it will perform as simply as you would like it. But maybe you weren't even aware of this feature.

Possibly relevant: How do I setup an FTP server on Windows 7?

This might also meet all your needs.

FTPDMIN:

4

I've used Quick 'n Easy FTP Server a lot, and it does what it says on the tin.

Filezilla Server is free

Not sure if there is a portable version.

4

This looks like it meets your requirements. The only caveat I see is it only allows one connection at a time.

If you want a GUI, I've used Bullet Proof before and it's very good. Looks like they have a "portable" option now. I cannot attest to it's simplicity, but worth a try.

Have a look at CrushFTP It works well, has too many features to list here and runs on many platforms. Eval lets you try it and support is great even during trial

  • SmallHTTP (contrary to name, have POP/SMTP/FTP/HTTP servers inside, GUI)
  • wzdftpd (missing on site, no GUI, run as service)

TypSoft FTP Server

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