Installation

Stylus SFTP Server ships as a single executable installer JAR that runs on both Windows and Linux. The installer provides an interactive GUI wizard and a silent command-line mode for automated deployments.

Windows Installation

Prerequisites

• OS: Windows Server 2016+ or Windows 10/11 (x64)
• Java: Java 21+ (bundled with the installer — no separate install required)
• Disk: 200 MB for install directory; additional space for user home directories
• Ports: SFTP (default 22), FTP/FTPS (default 21), Web Admin (default 9980)
• Permissions: Administrator privileges for installation and Windows service registration

GUI Installer

Launch the installer by double-clicking the JAR or running:

java -jar stylus-sftp-server-installer.jar

The wizard walks through the following steps:

Directory Structure

Install Directory (read-only binaries)

C:\Program Files\StylusSFTPServer\
    bin\           -- start.bat, stop.bat, admin.bat, admin-gui.bat, prunsrv64.exe
    libs\          -- stylus-sftp-server.jar and dependencies
    tomcat\        -- embedded Tomcat for web admin console
    jre\           -- bundled Java 21 runtime
    dataFolder.txt -- pointer to data directory

Data Directory (writable, mutable state)

C:\ProgramData\StylusSFTPServer\
    conf\          -- sftp-server.xml, filesystem-config.xml, admin-console.xml, users.xml
    db\            -- H2 database files (AES-encrypted on new installs)
    homes\         -- per-user home directories
    logs\          -- stylus-sftp.log, log4j2.xml
    conf\hostkey-*.ser        -- auto-generated SSH host keys
    conf\credentials.p12      -- PKCS12 credential vault (db password, signing passphrase)
    activation.key            -- license key file
    backup_activation_keys\   -- previous activation.key archives on license update
    branding\                 -- Portal white-label assets (Enterprise)
    signing\                  -- Server PGP signing key store (Enterprise)
    geodb\                    -- GeoIP database files (optional)

The install image also ships the file-verifier tool alongside the server binaries so it can be downloaded via the Portal at /portal/tools/verify.jar or handed out directly:

C:\Program Files\StylusSFTPServer\tools\
    verify.jar                -- shaded fat JAR (Java 21+)
    verify.exe                -- Windows native launcher (GUI)
    verify-cli.exe            -- Windows native launcher (console)
    verify-portable.zip       -- self-contained bundle: jlink JRE + JAR + launchers

Windows Service

The GUI installer automatically registers Stylus SFTP Server as a Windows service using Apache Commons Daemon (prunsrv64.exe).

Manage the service via command line or services.msc:

sc start StylusSFTPServer
sc stop StylusSFTPServer
sc query StylusSFTPServer

First Run

1. Place activation.key in the data directory root.
2. Start the service: sc start StylusSFTPServer
3. Check log: C:\ProgramData\StylusSFTPServer\logs\stylus-sftp.log
4. Test SFTP: sftp -P 22 admin@localhost
5. Open Web Admin: http://localhost:9980

Linux Installation

Prerequisites

• OS: Any modern Linux distribution (RHEL/CentOS 8+, Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, SUSE 15+)
• Java: Java 21+ (bundled JRE included in the distribution archive, or install system-wide)
• Disk: 200 MB for install directory; additional space for user home directories
• Ports: Ports below 1024 require root or CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE
• User: Dedicated service account recommended (e.g. sftpserver)

Install from Archive

The Linux distribution is a ZIP archive. Extract it to your preferred location:

# Create install directory
sudo mkdir -p /opt/stylus-sftp-server
sudo unzip StylusSFTPServer-linux.zip -d /opt/stylus-sftp-server

# Create data directory
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/stylus-sftp-server/{conf,db,homes,logs,geodb}

# Point install to data
echo "/var/lib/stylus-sftp-server" | sudo tee /opt/stylus-sftp-server/dataFolder.txt

# Create service account
sudo useradd -r -s /sbin/nologin sftpserver
sudo chown -R sftpserver:sftpserver /opt/stylus-sftp-server
sudo chown -R sftpserver:sftpserver /var/lib/stylus-sftp-server

Or use the silent installer (see below):

java -jar stylus-sftp-server-installer.jar --console --defaults \
    --installdir /opt/stylus-sftp-server \
    --datadir /var/lib/stylus-sftp-server \
    --port 22 \
    --adminuser admin \
    --adminpassword secret

Directory Structure

Install Directory

/opt/stylus-sftp-server/
    bin/           -- start.sh, stop.sh, admin.sh, admin-gui.sh
    libs/          -- stylus-sftp-server.jar and dependencies
    tomcat/        -- embedded Tomcat for web admin console
    jre/           -- bundled Java 21 runtime (optional)
    dataFolder.txt -- pointer to data directory

Data Directory

/var/lib/stylus-sftp-server/
    conf/          -- sftp-server.xml, filesystem-config.xml, admin-console.xml, users.xml
    db/            -- H2 database files
    homes/         -- per-user home directories
    logs/          -- stylus-sftp.log, log4j2.xml
    conf/hostkey-*.ser  -- auto-generated SSH host keys
    activation.key -- license key file
    geodb/         -- GeoIP database files (optional)

systemd Service

Create a systemd unit file to manage the server as a service. This is the recommended approach for production Linux deployments.

# /etc/systemd/system/stylus-sftp-server.service

[Unit]
Description=Stylus SFTP Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=sftpserver
Group=sftpserver
WorkingDirectory=/opt/stylus-sftp-server

Environment=JAVA_HOME=/opt/stylus-sftp-server/jre
Environment=STYLUS_SFTPSERVER_HOME=/opt/stylus-sftp-server
Environment=STYLUS_SFTPSERVER_DATA=/var/lib/stylus-sftp-server

ExecStart=/opt/stylus-sftp-server/bin/start.sh
ExecStop=/opt/stylus-sftp-server/bin/stop.sh

Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10

# Security hardening
NoNewPrivileges=true
ProtectSystem=strict
ReadWritePaths=/var/lib/stylus-sftp-server
ProtectHome=true
PrivateTmp=true

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable stylus-sftp-server
sudo systemctl start stylus-sftp-server
sudo systemctl status stylus-sftp-server

Binding to Privileged Ports (below 1024)

If you need to run on port 22 (standard SFTP) without running as root, grant the Java binary the CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE capability:

sudo setcap 'cap_net_bind_service=+ep' /opt/stylus-sftp-server/jre/bin/java

sudo iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp --dport 22 -j REDIRECT --to-port 2222

Firewall Configuration

# firewalld (RHEL/CentOS/Fedora)
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=22/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=9980/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# ufw (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 9980/tcp

If FTP/FTPS is enabled, also open the control port and passive port range:

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=21/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=50000-50100/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

First Run

1. Place activation.key in the data directory root: /var/lib/stylus-sftp-server/activation.key
2. Start the service: sudo systemctl start stylus-sftp-server
3. Check log: tail -f /var/lib/stylus-sftp-server/logs/stylus-sftp.log
4. Test SFTP: sftp -P 22 admin@localhost
5. Open Web Admin: http://localhost:9980

Silent / CLI Installer

For scripted or unattended deployments on either platform, pass the --console --defaults flags along with all required parameters:

Windows

java -jar stylus-sftp-server-installer.jar --console --defaults ^
    --installdir "C:\Program Files\StylusSFTPServer" ^
    --datadir "C:\ProgramData\StylusSFTPServer" ^
    --port 22 ^
    --adminuser admin ^
    --adminpassword secret

Linux

java -jar stylus-sftp-server-installer.jar --console --defaults \
    --installdir /opt/stylus-sftp-server \
    --datadir /var/lib/stylus-sftp-server \
    --port 22 \
    --adminuser admin \
    --adminpassword secret

All Parameters

Data Directory Separation

Stylus SFTP Server separates read-only binaries from mutable runtime data. This simplifies upgrades and supports locked-down environments.

• dataFolder.txt in the install root contains the absolute path to the data directory as a single line of plain text.
• System property: stylus.sftpserver.data — set automatically by the startup scripts.
• Path macro: ${STYLUS_SFTPSERVER_DATA} — usable in all configuration files.

Upgrade

1. Stop the server (Windows: sc stop StylusSFTPServer / Linux: sudo systemctl stop stylus-sftp-server).
2. Run the new installer, pointing it at the same install directory and same data directory.
3. The installer backs up conf/ and db/ before overwriting files.
4. Configuration is preserved. Review release notes for new configuration options.
5. Start the server.

Activation Key

Stylus SFTP Server requires a valid activation key to operate. Place the activation.key file in the root of the data directory.