How to Connect an SFTP Server to ChatGPT

SFTP in ChatGPT

Short answer: add the SFTP server to AnythingMCP as a File Search connector. AnythingMCP logs in over SSH with a password or a private key, indexes the full text of the folder you pick and keeps the index in sync. Then connect AnythingMCP to ChatGPT on the web. ChatGPT can find files by name and by content, read the pages it needs and give you the file itself, attached or as a temporary download link. Nothing is ever written to the server.

An AI assistant cannot open an SFTP server on its own, and one that could would have to download every file to answer one question. The index is what makes a question like "what does article NT-601 cost in the current price list?" take seconds.

What you need

• An SSH account on the server that can read the folder, ideally one that can do nothing else. A password or a private key both work.
• The host name and the SSH port, usually 22.
• An AnythingMCP workspace: AnythingMCP Cloud (7 days free) or your own self-hosted install.

SFTP is the SSH file transfer protocol, not FTP over TLS. If your server speaks FTP or FTPS, use the FTP / FTPS guide. A Hetzner Storage Box, a Synology NAS and a QNAP NAS have their own Marketplace entries with the right settings.

Set it up

Step 1 — Set up the File Search connector

In AnythingMCP, open the Marketplace and pick SFTP (File Search), or open Connectors → New → File Search and choose SFTP. A short wizard guides you; there is no long form to fill in.

1. Connect. Enter host, port, user name and either the password or the private key, and the folder to use, for example /srv/documents.
2. Test. AnythingMCP connects, signs in and lists the folder before anything is saved, and shows a checklist (address, reachability, encryption, server identity, login, folder) with what to fix when a step fails. It also shows the server's SSH host key as a fingerprint: confirm it once, and from then on AnythingMCP refuses a different key before the password is sent, which protects you from a server that pretends to be yours.
3. Scan. Click Scan folder. AnythingMCP lists the folder without indexing it yet and shows a tree with the number of files in every subfolder, the file types and the years. Folders that look like archives (Alt, Old, Archive, Backup) are already unticked, so ChatGPT never quotes an outdated document. A bar compares your selection with your plan while you tick folders, file types or an age limit; when the selection is larger than the plan, untick more or upgrade.
4. Describe. AnythingMCP drafts the connector's description from the scan, for example "Project documents of the engineering team, PDF, Word and Excel, 2021–2026". This text tells ChatGPT what the folder contains and when to search it. If an AI model is configured on the server, the wizard can draft it with AI and says exactly what is sent (folder names, file names, the first 2,000 characters of up to 20 sample files, personal data masked); otherwise the draft is built from the folder structure. Edit it as you like.
5. Activate. Choose the tool prefix, the sync interval and the MCP servers that get the connector, and click Activate.

The first sync starts right away and runs in a separate background service: ChatGPT and your other connectors keep answering at full speed while it runs. The connector's Files tab shows its progress: files found, indexed and skipped, the last and next sync, and a Sync now button.

Step 2 — Copy the server URL

In MCP Servers, open the server you chose in the wizard and copy its URL.

Step 3 — Add the connector in ChatGPT

Your server URL: in AnythingMCP, open MCP Servers → the server this connector is on, and copy its URL (https://cloud.anythingmcp.com/mcp/…). Use it wherever this guide shows YOUR_SERVER_ID.

ChatGPT adds MCP servers as plugins on its Plugins page, on the web and on paid plans. Developer mode is no longer needed. In a Business workspace only admins and owners can add one; in Enterprise and Edu an admin can grant the Create plugins with MCPs permission.

1. Go to chatgpt.com/plugins, click Add, then Add custom MCP server.
2. Enter a name, e.g. Name: SFTP files.
3. Under Connection, enter the Server URL https://cloud.anythingmcp.com/mcp/YOUR_SERVER_ID and keep Authentication on OAuth.
4. Select I understand and want to continue, then Create as a plugin. When ChatGPT asks, sign in to AnythingMCP and allow access.
5. Install the new plugin from your personal plugins, then type @ in a chat and pick it.

Step 4 — Ask

Start a new chat and ask about the content of your files. ChatGPT searches the index first, opens the pages that matched and answers with the file name, the page and the file's date, so you can check the source.

What ChatGPT can do with the files

<prefix> is the tool prefix you choose in the wizard, for example pricelists. Every tool except _share_file only reads.

Supported files: text is extracted from over 100 file types: PDF (page by page); Word, Excel and PowerPoint including macro and template variants and .xlsb; OpenDocument; Outlook .msg, .eml and .mbox with the text of their attachments; .rtf, .epub, .xps; Apple Pages, Numbers and Keynote (through their PDF preview); .svg and the text of .dxf CAD drawings; CSV, Markdown, HTML, XML, JSON, YAML, calendars and contacts; and source code. Every other file is still found by name, and PDF pages and images can be shown to the AI as pictures. Scanned PDFs without a text layer are read with OCR on Enterprise.

Prompts to try in ChatGPT

• "Search the project folder for the specification of pump series K-300 and summarise the operating limits."
• "Which documents mention the Kessler maintenance contract, and when were they last changed?"
• "Find every Excel row with the article number NT-601 and list the file and sheet for each."
• "Give me the newest version of the commissioning checklist as a download link."

How syncing works

AnythingMCP compares the size and modification time of every file with the last run and downloads only new and changed files. Files whose content is identical to the indexed version are recognised by their checksum (SHA-256) and not processed again. Deleted files leave the index. A file that cannot be read is retried on the next syncs and, after three failures (at once for password-protected files), stays findable by name, with the reason on the Files tab.

Syncing runs in its own background service, separate from the server that answers ChatGPT: a large first sync does not slow down your questions, and search keeps working with the last index while a sync runs.

When the folder outgrows your plan, the sync pauses before downloading anything instead of indexing only part of it: the Files tab shows how many files the folder now holds against your plan, ChatGPT keeps searching the files already indexed and is told that newer files may be missing, and you can untick folders or upgrade. A paused folder is checked again once a day and resumes by itself when it fits.

Security

• Read-only. The connector only lists and reads. It has no tool that writes, renames or deletes on the server.
• Your workspace only. The index is stored per workspace and every query is limited to it, by the application and again by the database (Row-Level Security).
• Credentials are stored encrypted and decrypted only in the background sync service. ChatGPT and your colleagues never see them.
• Who sees what follows your MCP roles: a role without the file tools does not see them. On Enterprise you can also allow or deny folders per role.
• File content is data. The tools tell the model never to follow instructions found inside a file.
• Host key pinned. The SSH host key you confirmed is checked on every connection; a different key is refused before the password or key is used.
• Key login. With a private key, no password for the account needs to exist at all.
• AnythingMCP Cloud connects only to servers on the public internet: a host in a private network is refused, also after a redirect. A server in your office network must be reachable from outside, or you run AnythingMCP self-hosted next to it.

Limits by plan

Self-hosted: Starter includes one File Search connector with up to 500 files, Team three connectors with 2,000 files, Enterprise has no limit and syncs down to every 5 minutes; the largest file is set by FILES_MAX_FILE_BYTES (100 MB by default). Self-hosted File Search needs a paid licence or the 30-day trial, which has the Team limits; the free Community edition has no File Search after the trial. All plans.

FAQ

Does the free ChatGPT plan work with custom MCP servers? OpenAI documents custom MCP servers for paid plans only; the Free plan is not on its list.

The wizard says the server presented a different host key. The server was reinstalled, or someone is in between. Check with the server's administrator before you confirm the new fingerprint (Files panel → Edit selection → back to Test).

Password or private key? Both work. A private key for an account that can only read the folder is the cleanest setup.

Does AnythingMCP copy all of the server? No. AnythingMCP keeps the extracted text, not the files. A file is read again only when it changed, or when you ask for the file itself.

Is vector search used? No. Company documents are searched for exact names, codes and numbers, where keyword search with page-level results is more reliable than embeddings.

Related

• Search your company file server with AI
• Find prices in supplier price lists with AI
• Search inside Nextcloud and WebDAV files with AI
• Share files from an AI chat as download links
• Connect an SFTP Server to Claude
• Connect an SFTP Server to Gemini
• Connect an SFTP Server to Microsoft Copilot
• Connect an SFTP Server to Cursor
• Connect an SFTP Server to Muse
• Other file sources in ChatGPT: FTP / FTPS server, WebDAV server, S3 bucket, Nextcloud, ownCloud, Synology NAS, QNAP NAS, Fritz!Box storage, Hetzner Storage Box, Network folder (self-hosted)