Importing and Exporting Users using CSV Files

Cerberus FTP Server supports bulk user import and export using CSV files. The CSV import and export features can be accessed using the import and export buttons on the right side of the Users page of the User Manager.

The CSV Import and CSV Export capabilities support nearly all the Cerberus FTP Server user fields and capabilities.

For an example CSV Import file for you can export your current user accounts in CSV format from the User Manager. It is best to export some existing users first and use the exported CSV as a guide.

Adding a Virtual Directory for a User

The directory permissions field for a virtual directory in the CSV file is a simple bit mask. Permissions have the following values:

Just add the values up to achieve the desired permissions. e.g., Download, Upload, Rename, and Delete permissions would be (1 + 2 + 4 + 8) = 15.

Granting all permissions would be 4095.

The Password field

Cerberus will import plaintext passwords, as well as hashed passwords.

By default, Cerberus assumes the password field in the CSV file contains a plain text password. However, if the password begins with a hash type enclosed in pairs of curly brackets then Cerberus assumes the text that follows is a base16-encoded salt and hash of a password. This capability allows you to import user account data when all you have is the hash of the user’s password.

For example, the following password text will be interpreted as a password hash:

{{SHA1}}254A08D8B2E49413F242C0ED6888DD99F3E53A500C01D6B0D5B9EB414394

See our section on password storage formats for supported hash algorithms and general formatting information for the base16 hash.

Group Import Export

Cerberus FTP Server does not currently support CSV import or export of groups. You will need to ensure that any groups referenced by your users during CSV import already exist in Cerberus before attempting the user import.

Dates

The dates in the CSV export are Unix time (a.k.a. POSIX time or Epoch time). It is defined as the number of seconds that have elapsed since 00:00:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Thursday, 1 January 1970.

You can use a converter like https://www.epochconverter.com/ to convert them to a readable format.