Platform-Independent SFTP with Python

Secure file transfer (SFTP) is essential for secure data exchange, but finding Python libraries that support it can be a challenge. When hard-coding user credentials and remote locations is not an option, exploring alternative solutions is crucial.

Paramiko is a popular Python library for SFTP. Its syntax is relatively straightforward, as demonstrated below:

import paramiko

host = "THEHOST.com"
port = 22
transport = paramiko.Transport((host, port))

password = "THEPASSWORD"
username = "THEUSERNAME"
transport.connect(username=username, password=password)

sftp = paramiko.SFTPClient.from_transport(transport)

import sys
path = './THETARGETDIRECTORY/'   sys.argv[1]
localpath = sys.argv[1]
sftp.put(localpath, path)

sftp.close()
transport.close()
print('Upload done.')

This code uploads a file to a remote SFTP server using hard-coded host, port, username, and password. However, it is important to note that hard-coding credentials is not considered best practice and should be avoided whenever possible.

Twisted is another option for SFTP in Python. It is a more complex library but offers a broader range of features. Here is an example of how to use Twisted for SFTP:

from twisted.conch.ssh import userauth, connection, channel, sftp

password = "THEPASSWORD"
username = "THEUSERNAME"
transport = connection.SSHClientFactory().buildProtocol('localhost', None)
transport.requestService(userauth.SSHUserAuthClientPassword(username, password))

sftp = channel.SSHChannel(transport)
sftp.request_sftp()

import sys
path = './THETARGETDIRECTORY/'   sys.argv[1]
localpath = sys.argv[1]
sftp.sendFile(localpath, path)

sftp.close()
transport.loseConnection()
print('Upload done.')

Both Paramiko and Twisted can facilitate platform-independent SFTP connections in Python. Paramiko is simpler to use, while Twisted offers more advanced features. The choice between the two depends on the specific requirements of the project.