Overview

There are two SFTP processes described below:

• Pulling Files from Data Axle: How to retrieve files from Data Axle’s SFTP server.
• Pushing Files to Your Server: How to configure your own SFTP server to receive deliveries.

Getting Started with SFTP Access (Pulling Files from Data Axle)

All match, snapshot, and incremental delivery files are available via SFTP. Getting access is a two-step process:

Step 1: Add an SSH Key

• Go to your Account page.
• In the Deliveries section, click Setup SSH Keys.
• Click Add SSH Key and upload your public key.

Step 2: Log In to the SFTP Server

• Use the username shown on the SSH Keys page.
• Connect to: sftp.data-axle.com
• Authenticate using the SSH key you provided.

Note: The same username applies to any key uploaded for your organization.

sftp username@sftp.data-axle.com
Connected to username@sftp.data-axle.com.
sftp> ls -l deliveries
drwxr--r--   1        -        -        0 Jan  1  1970 f55b74ccd0e216ac
sftp> ls -l deliveries/f55b74ccd0e216ac
-rwxr--r--   1        -        - 76264427 Sep 10 18:45 Delivery_Name-00000_contacts.csv.gz
-rwxr--r--   1        -        -   165873 Sep 10 18:45 Delivery_Name-00000_happy_hours.csv.gz
-rwxr--r--   1        -        - 12187632 Sep 10 18:45 Delivery_Name-00000_images.csv.gz
-rwxr--r--   1        -        - 13289322 Sep 10 18:45 Delivery_Name-00000_operating_hours.csv.gz
-rwxr--r--   1        -        - 438001691 Sep 10 18:46 Delivery_Name-00000_places.csv.gz
-rwxr--r--   1        -        - 78572623 Sep 10 18:45 Delivery_Name-00000_tags.csv.gz
-rwxr--r--   1        -        -     3442 Sep 10 18:46 manifest.json

Delivery completion

When a delivery has been completed, a manifest.json file is placed into the delivery directory. The structure is described in the File Delivery API Delivery Details section.

Using SFTP for File Delivery (Pushing Files to Your Server)

You can receive files securely via SFTP by following the steps below.

Step 1: Set Up SFTP Delivery in the UI

1. When creating a new delivery, select SFTP as the delivery method.

2. Enter the required configuration details:

   • Username: The username for authentication.
   • Host: Full hostname of your SFTP server.
   • Port: Port for SFTP (default is 22).
   • Upload Folder: Existing directory on your SFTP server where files should be uploaded (e.g., /home/user/). For flat layout, this can also include an optional filename prefix (see File layout options).
   • File layout: Choose how files are organized in the upload folder (see File layout options).

   Important: Please make sure that the upload folder already exists on your SFTP server and is writable. Most SFTP servers do not allow writes to the root directory (/) for security reasons. If files need to be delivered to the root directory, kindly ensure that the SFTP user has the required write permissions.

3. Click to generate the delivery.

After generation, a unique public key will be created for this delivery and shared with you securely by Data Axle.

Step 2: Add the Public Key to your SFTP Server

1. Copy the public key provided by Data Axle.
2. Add it to your server’s authorized keys.

This enables Data Axle to upload files to your specified location.

File layout options

SFTP deliveries support two file layouts. The default for SFTP is Flat.

• Flat — Files are written directly into the upload folder. This is useful when the target SFTP server does not allow creating subdirectories. The delivery or subscription identifier and timestamp are included in the filename so files do not overwrite each other:

  • Subscriptions: subscription-{subscription_id}-{datestamp_timestamp}-{subscription_name}-{filename}
  • Standalone deliveries: delivery-{delivery_id}-{datestamp_timestamp}-{delivery_name}-{filename}

End the upload folder with / to deliver into that directory. To add a filename prefix, put the text at the end of the path and do not end with /.

• Date-stamped — Files are written into a date folder under the upload folder: {upload_folder}/{YYYYMMDD}/{filename}. This creates a new subdirectory for each delivery date. Use it only when the SFTP account has permission to create directories under the upload folder. Filename prefix behavior (omitting the trailing /) applies only to flat layout; for date-stamped, the full upload folder path is treated as a directory.

Example configurations: