Celigo file server: Hosted SFTP for managed file transfer (MFT)
Updated Sep 28, 2026
Connecting to an SFTP server is useful. Hosting the SFTP endpoint changes the operating model.
In many file-based integrations, the integration platform acts as the client. A trading partner sends a file to an SFTP server, and the platform connects to that server to retrieve and process the file.
Trading partner → externally hosted SFTP server → integration platform → business application
That pattern works, but it leaves the customer responsible for the infrastructure that receives the file: the server, credentials, folder access, storage, availability, and maintenance before the integration ever touches the data.
With Celigo File Server, Celigo can host the SFTP endpoint on top of Celigo Storage. Trading partners connect to Celigo using standard SFTP, upload files into a configured home folder, and those files land directly in Celigo Storage for flows to process.
Trading partner → Celigo-hosted SFTP endpoint → Celigo Storage → flow → ERP or downstream application
The result is a simpler file exchange model: partners get an SFTP login, files land directly in Celigo, and integration teams can process them without standing up a separate SFTP server.
SFTP client and SFTP server: Two file exchange models, one platform
Celigo already supports connecting to external SFTP servers when customers or trading partners host the file infrastructure. Celigo File Server adds the other side of the exchange: Celigo can host the SFTP endpoint directly.
This supports both patterns:
- Celigo connects to an external SFTP server to retrieve or deliver files.
- Trading partners connect to a Celigo-hosted SFTP endpoint to upload or retrieve files.
Customers can keep using external SFTP where it makes sense, or let Celigo host the endpoint when they want partner files to land directly in the platform.
Why hosted SFTP matters for trading partner onboarding
The first question in many B2B onboarding projects is not about mappings or transformation logic. It is: Where should we send the file?
When the answer requires a separate infrastructure request, onboarding can stall before integration work begins. With Celigo File Server, the secure SFTP destination is part of the integration platform.
A trading partner can receive SFTP credentials, upload files into a configured folder, and Celigo flows can process those files as part of the broader business process.
How Celigo file server works
An Owner or Administrator enables the SFTP file server for an environment from Celigo Storage. Managed File Transfer (MFT) is a licensed add-on and is off by default, so teams enable it intentionally when they are ready to support hosted file exchange.
Celigo provides the SFTP connection details, including host, port 22, host key fingerprint, and login format. Each environment also has a file server identifier, which is used as part of the partner login format.
Admins can create partner-specific SFTP accounts with a username, password, and assigned home folder in Celigo Storage. The account has full access inside that configured home folder, including list, upload, download, create folder, rename, delete, and overwrite permissions. It cannot see anything outside the assigned folder.
Files uploaded through SFTP appear in Celigo Storage, where they can be viewed in the Storage UI, are subject to normal storage usage, and can be processed by flows through the Celigo APIs connector.
Manage partner access in Celigo
Partner access can be managed directly in Celigo. Disabling a partner account or the entire file server revokes access immediately, including active sessions.
Configuration changes are captured in the platform audit log and attributed to the user who made the change. That includes actions such as enabling or disabling the file server, selecting the identifier, creating or editing accounts, disabling or deleting accounts, and changing credentials.
Reduce SFTP infrastructure and maintenance
Hosted SFTP reduces the need for customer-managed infrastructure whose only job is to stage files before Celigo processes them.
Before:
Partner → externally hosted SFTP infrastructure → Celigo → business process
With Celigo File Server:
Partner → Celigo-hosted SFTP → Celigo Storage → flow → business process
That means fewer systems to provision, patch, secure, monitor, and maintain.
For organizations onboarding many trading partners, this can also simplify the handoff between IT and integration teams. Instead of requesting a new server, folder structure, and credentials outside the integration platform, teams can configure partner access in Celigo and keep the file exchange close to the flow that processes it.
Govern file access with Celigo Storage permissions
Files delivered via the Celigo File Server are stored in Celigo Storage. For integration-specific folders, Celigo applies the access model used for that integration.
Users with Manage access can work with files in the integration folder. Users with Monitor access can view and download files without broader management permissions. Admins and owners retain access to account-level storage areas outside integration folders.
This keeps partner file intake closer to the integration team’s existing access model, instead of requiring a separate file-share permission process.
→ Learn more about Celigo Storage
Support EDI and B2B file exchange without forcing API migration
Retailers, banks, logistics providers, manufacturers, and other trading partners often rely on mature file-transfer processes. Those processes do not always change just because another platform prefers APIs.
Celigo File Server modernizes the architecture around file exchange without requiring every external partner to change how they send files. Partners can keep using standard SFTP, while Celigo receives the file directly into the platform and routes it into the right automation.
This is especially useful for EDI and B2B workflows where file exchange is still the operating model between trading partners.
Example: EDI 850 purchase order intake through hosted SFTP
A trading partner sends an EDI 850 purchase order through a Celigo-hosted SFTP endpoint. The file lands in a partner-specific folder in Celigo Storage. A Celigo flow reads the file, parses the EDI document, maps the purchase order data, and creates the purchase order in the ERP.
Trading partner → Celigo-hosted SFTP → Celigo Storage → EDI flow → ERP purchase order
That is the core value of hosted file exchange in Celigo: the partner file becomes the starting point for the business process, not a separate handoff that requires another system in the middle.
One platform for file intake and integration processing
Celigo File Server is not a separate file-transfer island. It is hosted on top of Celigo Storage, and files that arrive through SFTP become part of the same platform where flows, APIs, and tools operate.
That matters because file transfer is rarely the end goal. The business process starts after the file arrives:
- An EDI purchase order needs to become an ERP order.
- A bank file needs to move into a finance workflow.
- A supplier file needs to update inventory.
- A partner file needs to be validated, transformed, and routed.
With Celigo-hosted SFTP, the file lands where the automation can begin.
What Celigo file server changes
Your partners do not need a server. They need a standard SFTP login.
Celigo hosts the endpoint, receives the file into Celigo Storage, and gives your flows a direct path to process it.
The result is simpler partner onboarding, less file-transfer infrastructure to maintain, centralized partner account management, and a cleaner path from file arrival to business automation.
