Browse and copy files as root (sudo)

Some files only root (or another user) may change: web server configs, other users’ folders. AirSCP can browse, change and copy files as that user, with sudo.

Steps

  1. Choose Host ▸ Edit…, then Advanced.
  2. In Browse and transfer as, type the user, for example root.
  3. Click Save, then connect.

From then on, listings, new folders, renames, deletes, permissions, uploads and downloads happen as that user. The commands you type (Run Command…, snippets) and the Terminal tab stay yours.

What the server needs

  • sudo that lets your user become that user without a password (a NOPASSWD rule in /etc/sudoers), for example: deploy ALL=(root) NOPASSWD: ALL.
  • OpenSSH’s sftp-server program (most Linux servers have it; BusyBox-only systems don’t).

When something is missing, connecting stops and says what, instead of browsing as your own user.

Tips

  • Files AirSCP makes this way belong to that user (root, say).
  • Copies go with sftp for such a host (scp can’t change user); folders still go as one stream where the server has tar.
  • Use it only for the hosts that need it: everything you do there is done as root.