What is SFTP?
SFTP is an added feature utilized by Apricot customers to transfer data to Apricot. SFTP utilizes a CSV to upload into the Apricot Import tool.
If your account is interested in acquiring SFTP, please contact the Account Management team by visiting Support.
These instructions are assuming you are using PuTTYGen (To generate your Public/Private key pair) and FileZilla (To access the Apricot SFTP server), both of which are available as free downloads. We are not affiliated with either product nor their makers.
Please note that these instructions are intended for advanced users. Only Administrators will be able to set up this feature. Apricot Support does not provide support for individual SFTP client setups beyond information needed to be entered within Apricot.
Importing a File
Follow these instructions to generate an SSH public key (make sure you open the PuTTYGen tool and not the PuTTYAPP)
Once in the PuTTYGen tool, select "RSA" as the type of key to generate. Click the “Generate” button, then follow the instructions on-screen.
Enter a passphrase for the private key and confirm the same passphrase.
Click “Save private key” and save it to a place you can easily access (like your desktop).
Copy the public key. Navigate to Administrator > Workflow Station > Apricot Settings and paste it into the SSH Public Key field under Data Integration and click Save.
Open Filezilla. In the menu at the top of the screen, click Edit > Settings, then click on SFTP.
Click the Add key file button and choose the private key file you saved in Step 5.
You will then be prompted to enter your password; enter the passphrase you entered in Step 4 and click OK.
Open Filezilla, then copy and paste the following into Apricot in the Data Integration settings above the SSH Public Key:
Host
Username
Port
Click the Quickconnect button. You may receive a prompt asking whether or not you would like to trust the host. Click "Yes" if applicable, and you should be successfully connected as indicated in the status bar.
On the left side of Filezilla is the files on your computer; navigate to where you saved your data import file in Step 1. Click on that file and drag it over to the right side of the Filezilla screen.
Wait for the notification that the transfer was successful. At the top of the Filezilla menu, click the Refresh icon.
You should now see that your file has disappeared from the right side of the screen. Navigate back to Apricot to the Import page (Admin > Record Manager > Import)
Find the form you imported and expand the arrow to see if the transfer was successful. If it was successful, you will see a tag next to the import that says "Automated".
SFTP Best Practices
Ensure the SSH Public Key information is correct in Apricot Settings.
Ensure the Import CSV has valid data.
If you are choosing a Tier 2 form, ensure that you have the correct Record ID or First and Last Name to match the Tier 1 records.
Treat the data like a regular import.
Troubleshooting Errors
Public Key Formatting Issue
"A validation error occurred saving the ssh public key. The key must satisfy the pattern: ^ssh-rsa\s+[A-Za-z0-9+/]+[=]{0,3}(\s+.+)?\s*$"
This error means that the public key entered is not in the correct format. Generally, this indicates that a string was used with more items in it than Apricot expects. The expected format for the public key is:
ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABJQAAAQEAhlE70TS+6FQfxKIgz2SsF4TObRo/8WFLrPHBnGB/yZXgoR4oTHm/NIt4caIQEvN5LNiL61behrpm82bBR6kwevB8Q1MkSny51/NxplXpQb5XYD/WWWJkjE1JocSedWPe3kiqNXThZwKaMvBffswE9a9+VUFhE6IAH8TzYf7/xZ6tAyXQKhBUo8iG9/pBbxY+QHBGxi2BibuzjCwBQB9/7M5woql7vPf7U4+Aym0T0XlXJ5O4tZ2oaXtr/OCtTpNGKRxusQiKSU3v/o6OR1SrrtyYWVi/t7keUX0qPb5I3L9ttCvJjScQ2Jz+W+rB9VGVvOr515z8YkjvMkruwWnDrw== rsa-key-20210303
If the key is in the expected format and still not accepted, you may need to generate a new public and private key pair.
Additional Support
If you have questions regarding this article, or are experiencing connection errors, IP address errors, or other issues using SFTP, please reach out to our support team at Apricot@bonterratech.com. Please provide the configuration file, data file, and the errors you encounter when uploading.