We have many platforms to host content in the cloud, but without a doubt one of the most popular is Google Drive. There we can store files of all kinds, create backup copies, have documents available to open and edit from anywhere or share them between devices. In this article we are going to talk about a free program that expands the possibilities of this service. Specifically, it is google-drive-ftp-adapter, which turns Google Drive into an FTP server .
What is an FTP server
First of all we want to talk about what exactly an FTP server is . It is a service used to transfer files, either uploading or downloading, between two remotely connected computers. The normal thing is that it is between the local computer of a client and the server of a provider.
For this to be possible it is necessary to have an FTP client and an FTP server. Basically it is the software that will allow this file transfer between two computers. The connection is bidirectional, so at the same time we can send and receive data. For example, it can be used to upload images, video files, text documents … Any type of file that we have and that we are interested in sharing with another device.
We can use this type of service with a username and password . It is what allows us to authenticate and verify a specific account to access a server and transfer files. However, guest access is also possible, which could be anonymously.
Steps to use Google Drive as an FTP server
After having briefly explained what the FTP protocol is, how the client and the server act, we are going to explain how we can use Google Drive for it. We are going to refer to google-drive-ftp-adapter , which is the necessary application to achieve our goal. We will have to download it on our computer, configure it and start using it with our user to be able to upload or download files.
Download google-drive-ftp-adapter
The first thing we have to do is download the google-drive-ftp-adapter program to our computer. It is free , open source software, and we can download it from GitHub . Of course, it is necessary to have Java previously installed on the computer for it to work correctly.
In GitHub we will see all the information regarding google-drive-ftp-adapter, as well as the button to download the ZIP file that contains what the program itself is and all the content that we are going to have to download on our computer and run later .
Within the information we will see that the mission of this program is to be able to use the FTP protocol through Google Drive. This, as we will see, will give a series of possibilities to users who have accounts in this popular Google service.
Run the jar file
Once we have downloaded the ZIP file from GitHub and unzipped it on the computer, we will see that there are different folders. One of them is google-drive-ftp-adapter-master. It is right there where we have to enter. Inside there we must execute the jar file that we will see in order to start the program.
Additionally, we will also see that there is a tool called PoweredBy.Cloud . This is what allows you to configure Drive as a CDN.
* Note: when we executed it for the first time this file gave an error indicating that it could not be read correctly. It is something that can happen, but it is easily solved just by rerunning it a second time.
Link Google Drive account
When we have run google-drive-ftp-adapter, it will ask us to link it to our account. We have to give the necessary permissions so that it can work properly. In addition, Windows Defender , Microsoft‘s antivirus, will send us a message to allow us to use this application. We will have to give it to accept, since otherwise it could block the program and not work correctly.
You have to log in to Drive with your username and password. This is essential to really link the account and be able to access the content that we already have saved or be able to upload new files that we want to the platform.
From that moment on we will have Google Drive configured to work as an FTP client. This tool that we have installed automates the entire process. We will only need any FTP program. For example in our case we have decided to use WinSCP, which works very well. It would be similar with any other option.
Open the FTP program
Therefore, the next step will be to open the FTP program, which in this case will be WinSCP . It will ask us for a series of data that will be necessary to be able to connect to Google Drive. We have to put the hostname Localhost. In the user section we put user and password also user.
The port you are going to use is 1821. This is the port that google-drive-ftp-adapter configures us by default. In the options that will appear above we have to select FTP and without encryption.
Start using google-drive-ftp-adapter
Once we have configured all these parameters that we have mentioned, it only remains to start using google-drive-ftp-adapter . When we connect, it will hardly take a few seconds for the list of all our files that we have stored in the Google service to appear.
With this we will achieve full and accessible control of all folders. We will be able to upload and download files in a simple and fast way. For example we can transfer text documents, images, video files, ZIP folders … Anything we want to have in Drive. Being bidirectional, we can both upload and download content without any problem.
In short, with these steps that we have shown we can configure Google Drive as an FTP server. It is a simple, fast process that only requires installing a tool such as google-drive-ftp-adapter, which is totally free and open source, and configuring it properly. We will also have to have an FTP program, which in our case we have used WinSCP but any other with a similar operation can be used.
What do you think of the google-drive-ftp-adapter program? Do you think it is useful to be able to use Drive as an FTP server and transfer files quickly and easily thanks to this tool?
