# SFTP Monitor

The **SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) Monitor** is used to monitor and manage file transfers over **SFTP servers**. It continuously watches a designated folder on the server, detects new files, and manages their movement to a defined location.

The component is often used to:

* Monitor inbound file deliveries from external systems.
* Copy and organize files for downstream ingestion.
* Provide metadata (file name, size, timestamps) to pipeline events for further processing.

### Configuration Sections

All component configurations are classified into the following sections:

* **Basic Information**
* **Meta Information**
* **Resource Configuration**
* **Connection Validation**

### Using the SFTP Monitor in a Workflow

1. Drag and drop the **SFTP Monitor** component from the **Consumer section** of system components into the **Workflow Editor**.
2. Open the component properties to access configuration tabs.
3. Configure the **Basic Information** and **Meta Information** fields.
4. Save the component to activate monitoring.

### Basic Information Tab

The *Basic Information* tab is the default configuration screen.

| Field                       | Description                                                        | Required |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------- |
| **Invocation Type**         | Select execution mode. Currently, only **Real-Time** is supported. | Yes      |
| **Deployment Type**         | Displays the deployment type of the component (pre-selected).      | Yes      |
| **Container Image Version** | Displays the Docker image version used (pre-selected).             | Yes      |
| **Failover Event**          | Select a failover event to handle retries or errors.               | Optional |
| **Batch Size**              | Maximum records processed in one execution cycle (minimum: 10).    | Yes      |

### Meta Information Tab

The *Meta Information* tab defines server connection details, authentication, and monitored folder paths.

| Field                   | Description                                                                     | Required    |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- |
| **Host**                | SFTP server hostname or IP address.                                             | Yes         |
| **Username**            | Username for authentication.                                                    | Conditional |
| **Port**                | SFTP server port number (default: 22).                                          | Yes         |
| **Authentication**      | Select authentication type: **Password** or **PEM/PPK File**.                   | Yes         |
| **Password**            | Password for authentication (used if *Password* method is selected).            | Conditional |
| **PEM/PPK File**        | Upload a private key file (used if *PEM/PPK* method is selected).               | Conditional |
| **Directory Path**      | Path of the monitored folder (e.g., `/home/monitor`).                           | Yes         |
| **Copy Directory Path** | Destination path where monitored files are copied (e.g., `/home/monitor_copy`). | Yes         |
| **Channel**             | Select a channel option. Supported value: **SFTP**.                             | Yes         |

> **Note**:
>
> * Do not use **nested directory structures** in `Directory Path` or `Copy Directory Path`. Example of unsupported paths:
>   * `home/monitor/data`
>   * `home/monitor/data/copy_data`
> * Only one SFTP Monitor can read and move a file. If multiple monitors watch the same directory, only one will act on the file.

### Saving the Configuration

1. Click **Save Component** (Storage icon).
2. A notification confirms that the component has been saved successfully.

### Behavior Notes

* The SFTP Monitor requires an **output event** to send file details.
* The component **copies** each monitored file into the defined copy path for further reading.
* Metadata sent to the output event includes:
  * **File name**
  * **File size**
  * **Last modified time**
  * **Ingestion time**

### Example Workflow

1. Configure an **SFTP Monitor** to watch `/home/monitor` for incoming CSV files.
2. Set the **Copy Directory Path** to `/home/monitor_copy`.
3. Output metadata is sent to an event, which triggers an **SFTP Reader** to process the copied files.
4. Downstream transformations process the ingested CSV data into the pipeline.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.bdb.ai/bdb-user-documentation/platform-modules/11.0/data-engineering/data-pipelines/pipeline-editor/pipeline-components/consumers/sftp-monitor.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.