Cyberduck is a free and open-source file transfer client for File Transfer Protocol (FTP) – the most popular network protocol to transfer files between client and server. It is also a network client for WebDAV, SFTP and cloud storages such as Amazon S3 and Microsoft Azure. More so, it also supports Rackspace Cloud files and Google Cloud Storage. David V. Kocher developed the program and released it in 2003.

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Cyberduck 101 Guide

The program is coded in Java and C# and leveraging the Windows Forms, and Cocoa user interface for Windows and macOS respectively. Since its release, it is one of the most popular FTP clients in the market for macOS.

The multi-functional client is a cross-platform client that supports both operating systems – Mac and Windows, but primarily, it is more common among macOS users. Unfortunately, the program does not have a Linux version. Cyberdunk is licensed under General Public License (GPL) – the globally famed free software license. The GPL license offers the end user the full liberty to share and modify the software.

Mac users leverage Cyberduck mainly for downloading and uploading remote files using popular file transfer protocols such as FTP, SFTP or WebDAV connection. More so, it’s graphical user interface allows users to manage and transfer large files between client and server quickly. Besides, it also has several configuration options to streamline synchronization. Besides its feature set also packs the drag and drop files feature. It is a robust software and works flawlessly.

The easy-to-use FTP client comes with a bookmark manager and Quick Look feature whereby one can preview files at a single click. Cyberduck is one of the top-notch FTP clients for its support of external text editor. The feature allows users to open and instantaneously edit files although the program is not so famous for its transfer speed.

Cyberduck is multilingual software that supports most of the widely used languages such as English, Dutch, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Russian. The program is more appealing for Mac users because it supports Bonjour – macOS and iOS’s built-in software that is Apple’s implementation of zero-configuration networking and Keychain – Apple’s password management system.

In short, Cyberduck has a wealth of options to offer when it comes to managing files and transfers. It’s appealing, and intuitive user interface design makes it very easy to use for both amateurs and professionals.

Moreover, the developer of the software – David V. Kocher, also offers an iteration for the Command-line-interface, dubbed the ‘duck’. Duck is available for both macOS and Windows.

How to Download Cyberduck for Mac

Downloading and installing Cyberduck for Mac is very simple and does not require the user to perform any complicated tasks. Follow the steps below to download Cyberduck on mac enabled devices:

1. Click here to download Cyberduck or go to the official website.
2. (Skip this step if you’ve auto-downloaded from our server) Next, download the Mac version by clicking on ‘Download Cyberduck for Mac’. It will install the latest version of the software.
3. Following the completion of the download, unzip the downloaded file to extract the files.
4. Next, drag and drop the Cyberduck application to the Application folder. One can also drop on the ‘Application’ icon in the dock.
5. Users can launch the program by double-clicking the software icon.

How to Download Cyberduck for Windows

Akin to macOS, downloading Cyberduck for Windows is straightforward. Below are the steps to download and install the program:

1. Click here to download Cyberduck or download from the official website of Cyberduck.
2. (Skip this step if you’ve auto-downloaded) Click on ‘Download Cyberduck for Windows.’
3. Unzip the downloaded executable file and double-click the icon to install it.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
5. Viola! You can use Cyberduck on the Windows PC.

Update Cyberduck

Updating software at regular intervals is good practice. Most developers tend to fix bugs and improve the efficiency of the software with every update. A user that already have Cyberduck installed on the computers must update to the latest version of the FTP client program. The latest version will make it compatible with iRODS 4.1. Follow the below instructions to update the Cyberduck:

1. Open Cyberduck and click on the menu.
2. From the menu, choose the option ‘Check for updates.’
3. It is recommended to update the program if users are using the 5.0.0 version or lower. For those using any version above 5.0.0, the update is optional. However, it is always advisable to use the latest version of the software.
4. Click on ‘Install Update’ if a user has to update to the current version of the software.

The latest stable release of the software is 6.9.0 and was released on January 16, 2019.

Learn how to use Cyberduck for FTP

As Cyberduck is a powerful FTP client, one can leverage to upload a website. One of its most significant advantages is that it can transfer files quickly over the internet. Below we have listed easy steps to connect, upload and download files using Cyberduck.

• To access one’s account via Cyberduck, users have first to open the application and then click on the option ‘Open Connection Button.’
• In the resultant window, enter the hostname of your server, Port, cPanel username and the cPanel password.
• Finally, click on the ‘Connect’ button, and the connection will be established using FTP.
• Once connected, users can download files or folders from the hosting account to the computer via Cyberduck.
• To download, go to the particular file or folder and right click on it. From the available options select ‘Download To.’
• A new window will open in which a user can navigate and select the files and folders. Users have to navigate to the location where they want to save the file.
• Next, click the ‘Choose’ button to initiate the download.
• A new window dubbed Transfers will open that will track the download progress.
• The process to upload a file or folder from the computer is similar to the download. First, a user needs to go to the location of the file on the hosting account.
• Next, right-click in the application window and choose the option ‘upload.’
  The resultant window will display all the files and folders on the computer.
• Choose the file and hit on the ‘upload’ button.
• Akin to the download file option, a ‘transfers’ window will display the progress of the upload.

Features of Cyberduck

Cyberduck is one of the best FTP programs for macOS due to the array of features it packs. While many use the program for Windows, Mac user commonly sought the software. Below we list the unique features of the program.

Open-Source and Multi-Lingual

Cyberduck is licensed under the GNU General Public License, which is it an open-source program. Users can download the source code from GitHub and follow the development activity of the project. The software is free to download and works on a donation revenue model. However, on the Mac store, it comes at a price tag of $23.99 as Apple does not support donation models. Another great feature of the software is that it supports over 37 languages.

Support for External Editors

One of the unique features of Cyberduck is that it seamlessly integrates most of the external editors. The feature makes it very easy for users to instantaneously edit text or binary file in the application they prefer. More so, it is compatible with editors such as BBEdit, TextMate and more. Besides, it also supports cloud storage hosting provider – Dropbox, to easily exchange files. Some have reported that connections drop at times when using Cyberduck, but it notably happens when using SSL connections.

Quick Connection to Various Servers

Another great feature of the software is that creating a new server is simple and easy. Cyberduck’s user-friendly interface makes it easy for both amateur and advanced users to create a connection. On macOS, users can even drag and drop bookmarks from Finder. The application is best for newbies as the user interface is simple and straightforward to use. More so, one can also leverage the help guide and cheat sheets offered by Cyberduck. Another convenient feature is that reopens the connection the next time a user opens the app.

Distribute content on the cloud

As mentioned above, Cyberduck can connect to various protocols and storage services such as FTP, WebDAV, Google Cloud Storage, Amazon S3 and more. Moreover, the user can configure Amazon CloudFront to distribute files globally with a single click.

Users can leverage any server such as FTP or SFTP and assign it as the source of a new Amazon CloudFront content distribution network. One can set the default file and also handle streaming of the CloudFront distributions.

Using Cyberduck, one can browse Amazon S3 same way as looking at the hard disk. It comes with the latest storage options whereby users can configure encryption, describe website endpoints, and configure storage class.

Moreover, Cyberduck can easily convert uploads to Google Docs format. One can also assign access control to share files with anyone leveraging the Google login credentials.

Bookmarking using Cyberduck

Cyberduck comes with an unparalleled bookmarking feature. The software possesses the drag and drop functionality makes organizing bookmark easy as pie. With the functionality, users can drop bookmarks to Finder on macOS. Similarly, it works the other way as well where one can drop folders to bookmarks to upload.

Moreover, one can choose to import bookmarks from third-party applications. Cyberduck also provides a history of servers one has visited over time. The information displayed is timestamped of the time it was accessed.

Cyberduck supports various SSH features such as public key authentication and one-time passwords.

File Search and Management

Browsing files on Cyberduck is easy and straightforward than most of the FTP clients in the market. Users can view and move files quickly to the browser. More so, it with almost any character encoding system. File management is even more comfortable with copy and paste functionality.

The Quick Look functionality in the software gives users to preview files with just a single click. On macOS, one has to click on the space button to preview files, akin to using the native Finder app. The functionality allows users to view files without the need to download it. Also, browsing large folder structures is much easy and efficient.

Cyberduck allows users to limit the number of simultaneous transfers. Moreover, resuming interrupted download and upload is much simpler on the software. It offers one of the secure file transfers between servers.

Integrates With Native Systems

Cyberduck is a native citizen of both operating systems – macOS and Windows. Hence, it means that it natively works with minimal computational overhead and additional components. On macOS, all the passwords are managed with Mac’s inbuilt password management system – Keychain app. Whereas on Windows, passwords are stored in the Credential Manager. To make any changes, navigate to Control Panel >User Accounts > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials.

Cyberduck integrates with Apple’s zero-configuration networking protocol – Bonjour. Bonjour software on macOS detects printers, and services on the local network.

It leverages the multicast Domain Name System (mDNS) service records. Therefore, it automatically discovers SFTP, WebDAV and FTP services immediately in the local network. Users can view the services in Bookmark. In Cyberduck, one can ‘.duck’ bookmark files directly from the Finder. It also offers convenient system notifications.

Reportedly, one of the only drawbacks is that upgrading to High Sierra – a fourteenth major release of macOS creates iCloud conflict when opening Cyberduck.

All-in-all Cyberduck is excellent software, especially if a user is looking for a robust FTP client. The program packs a wide range of powerful features that meets the needs of everyone. Cyberduck’s built-in support for popular cloud storages is one of the main reasons it is popular among users.

Conclusion:

Without a doubt, Cyberduck is a much better FTP client for macOS than Windows. Even though it is a native citizen on Windows operating system, there are many other alternatives for Windows. But Mac users can try Cyberduck and quickly transfer files between client and servers.