`ftplib`

The Python ftplib module implements the client side of the File Transfer Protocol (FTP), allowing Python programs to connect to FTP servers and transfer files programmatically.

Here’s a quick look at listing a directory on an FTP server:

from ftplib import FTP

with FTP("ftp.example.com") as ftp:
    ftp.login()
    ftp.cwd("pub")
    print(ftp.nlst())
# ['README', 'data.tar.gz', 'changelog.txt']

The module provides two classes: FTP for plain connections and FTP_TLS for connections secured with TLS.

Note: The ftp.example.com server is a placeholder and won’t respond if you run the code snippets as they are. Replace the hostname and credentials with your own to try the examples against a real server.

Key Features

Implements RFC 959 with UTF-8 encoding support per RFC 2640
Supports both binary and line-mode file transfers
Uses passive mode by default, which works through most firewalls
Provides FTP_TLS for TLS-encrypted control connections and opt-in data channel encryption via prot_p()
Supports context manager usage for automatic connection cleanup
Covers directory listing, navigation, upload, download, rename, and delete operations

Frequently Used Classes and Functions

Object	Type	Description
`ftplib.FTP`	Class	Opens a plain FTP connection to a server
`ftplib.FTP_TLS`	Class	Opens an FTP connection secured with TLS
`FTP.login()`	Method	Authenticates with the server (defaults to anonymous login)
`FTP.retrbinary()`	Method	Downloads a file in binary mode by passing each block to a callback
`FTP.storbinary()`	Method	Uploads a file in binary mode from a file-like object
`FTP.retrlines()`	Method	Downloads a file or directory listing line by line
`FTP.mlsd()`	Method	Lists a directory in standardized format, returning filename and metadata pairs
`FTP.cwd()`	Method	Changes the working directory on the server
`FTP.pwd()`	Method	Returns the current working directory path on the server
`FTP.delete()`	Method	Deletes a file from the server
`FTP.rename()`	Method	Renames or moves a file on the server
`ftplib.all_errors`	Tuple	Contains the four ftplib exception types plus `OSError` and `EOFError`, for broad error handling

Examples

Downloading a file in binary mode:

from ftplib import FTP

with FTP("ftp.example.com") as ftp:
    ftp.login()
    with open("data.tar.gz", "wb") as f:
        ftp.retrbinary("RETR data.tar.gz", f.write)

Uploading a file in binary mode:

from ftplib import FTP

with FTP("ftp.example.com") as ftp:
    ftp.login("alice", "secret")
    with open("report.pdf", "rb") as f:
        ftp.storbinary("STOR report.pdf", f)

Connecting securely with FTP_TLS and protecting the data channel:

from ftplib import FTP_TLS

with FTP_TLS("ftp.example.com") as ftps:
    ftps.login("alice", "secret")
    ftps.prot_p()  # Secure the data connection
    ftps.cwd("uploads")
    with open("backup.tar.gz", "rb") as f:
        ftps.storbinary("STOR backup.tar.gz", f)

Common Use Cases

The most common tasks for ftplib include:

Automating scheduled file uploads to legacy FTP servers
Downloading archives or data feeds from public FTP mirrors
Mirroring remote FTP directories to a local filesystem
Connecting to secure FTP servers using FTP_TLS with an ssl.SSLContext

Real-World Example

The following script downloads all .csv files from a directory on an FTP server:

from ftplib import FTP, all_errors
from pathlib import Path

OUTPUT_DIR = Path("downloads")
OUTPUT_DIR.mkdir(exist_ok=True)

try:
    with FTP("ftp.example.com") as ftp:
        ftp.login()
        ftp.cwd("data/reports")
        csv_files = [name for name in ftp.nlst() if name.endswith(".csv")]
        for filename in csv_files:
            dest = OUTPUT_DIR / filename
            with open(dest, "wb") as f:
                ftp.retrbinary(f"RETR {filename}", f.write)
            print(f"Downloaded: {filename}")
except all_errors as e:
    print(f"FTP error: {e}")

Run it:

$ python ftp_download_csv.py
Downloaded: sales_jan.csv
Downloaded: sales_feb.csv
Downloaded: summary.csv

The script uses nlst() to filter filenames by extension and retrbinary() to download each file into a local downloads/ directory. Wrapping the session in all_errors catches any connection, authentication, or protocol failure in one place.

Tutorial

How to Download Files From URLs With Python

In this tutorial, you'll find the right tools to help you download files from URLs with Python and manage the data retrieval process. You'll cover data streaming, thread pools, and asynchronous downloads.

intermediate

For additional information on related topics, take a look at the following resources:

Python's urllib.request for HTTP Requests (Tutorial)
Sending Emails With Python (Tutorial)
Python's Requests Library (Guide) (Tutorial)
Socket Programming in Python (Guide) (Tutorial)
Reading and Writing Files in Python (Guide) (Tutorial)
Downloading Files From URLs With Python (Course)
HTTP Requests With Python's urllib.request (Course)
Sending Emails Using Python (Course)
Emailing With Yagmail in Python (Course)
Sending Emails With Python (Quiz)
Making HTTP Requests With Python (Course)
Python's Requests Library (Quiz)
Programming Sockets in Python (Course)
Socket Programming in Python (Quiz)
Reading and Writing Files in Python (Course)
Reading and Writing Files in Python (Quiz)

Have a question about this? Mentor AI can show you examples, compare related terms, and point you to tutorials.

By Leodanis Pozo Ramos • Updated Sept. 26, 2026

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