Batch Scripting

AeroFTP 4.2.5 runs checked, line-oriented .aeroftp-script files. The whole script is parsed before any operation starts: unknown commands, unsupported flags, undefined variables and malformed quoting fail with exit 5 before line 1 runs. .aeroftp is reserved for encrypted profile backups and is refused by batch.

aeroftp-cli batch deploy.aeroftp-script
aeroftp-cli batch backup.aeroftp-script --json
cat deploy.aeroftp-script | aeroftp-cli batch -

Operation results go to stdout; diagnostics go to stderr. ECHO writes its message to stderr in both normal and --json batches and emits no structured stdout result. --json selects structured operation output, including cross-profile TRANSFER results. A batch is never interactive, including when launched from a terminal.

Command Reference

Commands operate on the target selected by CONNECT. Do not put a connection URL on every file-operation line. Batch commands accept only the flags listed below; they do not inherit every option of the similarly named CLI subcommand.

Command	Syntax	Behavior
SET	SET name=value	Define or replace a variable
ECHO	ECHO text	Write text to stderr; no structured stdout result
ON_ERROR	ON_ERROR FAIL or ON_ERROR CONTINUE	Choose failure handling; default FAIL
CONNECT	CONNECT --profile "Name" or CONNECT protocol://user@host	Select and test a saved profile or URL target; URL authentication must already be available non-interactively
DISCONNECT	DISCONNECT	Clear the current target
LS	LS [-l] [path]	List a directory
GET	GET remote [local]	Download one file
PUT	PUT local [remote]	Upload one file
MKDIR	MKDIR remote	Create a directory
RM	RM [-r or -rf] remote	Remove a file, or recursively remove a directory
MV	MV from to	Rename or move a remote entry
CAT	CAT remote	Read remote content
STAT	STAT remote	Read metadata
FIND	FIND path pattern	Search by filename
DF	DF	Query quota
TREE	TREE [path]	List a tree with depth 3
SYNC	SYNC local remote --direction upload|download|both [sync options]	Run the CLI sync engine against the connected target
CONNECT_SOURCE_PROFILE	CONNECT_SOURCE_PROFILE "Name"	Select the cross-profile source
CONNECT_DEST_PROFILE	CONNECT_DEST_PROFILE "Name"	Select the cross-profile destination
TRANSFER	TRANSFER source_path dest_path [-r or --recursive] [--skip-existing] [--dry-run]	Copy between those two saved profiles

GET and PUT do not accept -o or -r in batch scripts. Use SYNC with an explicit direction for directory transfers. SYNC requires both paths and --direction, accepts sync-specific options through the CLI parser, and refuses global options on its line. Put global options on aeroftp-cli batch ... instead. An applying SYNC --delete also requires --max-delete N or N%.

URL targets need preconfigured non-interactive credentials, such as an appropriate SSH key or credentials supplied through supported outer CLI options. Batch CONNECT cannot pause for a missing password. Prefer CONNECT --profile "Name" for vault-backed password or OAuth authentication, with the credential vault available to the process. Do not embed passwords in script URLs.

Variables and Quoting

SET source=./dist
SET destination=/var/www/html
SET profile=Production
CONNECT --profile "${profile}"
SYNC "${source}" "${destination}" --direction upload --dry-run
DISCONNECT

Variables use $name or ${name} and expand once. Names follow [A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*; at most 256 variables and 64 KiB per value are allowed. Undefined variables are errors. Use $$ for a literal dollar sign. Quote paths and profile names with spaces. Variable expansion happens before tokenization, including inside quotes; single quotes do not disable it. A trailing backslash joins the next physical line; a blank/comment line cannot be its continuation.

Deployment

# deploy.aeroftp-script
ON_ERROR FAIL
CONNECT --profile "Production"
PUT ./dist/app.js /var/www/html/app.js
PUT ./dist/index.html /var/www/html/index.html
STAT /var/www/html/index.html
DISCONNECT

For a complete directory, preview a sync first, then remove --dry-run after reviewing the plan:

CONNECT --profile "Production"
SYNC ./dist /var/www/html --direction upload --dry-run
DISCONNECT

Backup

# backup.aeroftp-script
ON_ERROR FAIL
CONNECT --profile "Production"
SYNC ./backups/www /var/www/html --direction download
GET /var/backups/db-latest.sql.gz ./backups/db-latest.sql.gz
ON_ERROR CONTINUE
GET /var/log/nginx/access.log ./backups/access.log
DF
DISCONNECT

Cross-Profile Copy

CONNECT_SOURCE_PROFILE "Source Cloud"
CONNECT_DEST_PROFILE "Backup NAS"
TRANSFER /documents /backups/documents -r --dry-run
DISCONNECT

Failures and Limits

ON_ERROR FAIL stops at the first failed operation with its exit code. ON_ERROR CONTINUE records the failure and continues; a run with failures finishes with a nonzero result. Ctrl-C always ends the batch with exit 130, regardless of policy. A failed CONNECT clears the preceding target, so later commands cannot accidentally reuse it.

The script file is limited to 1 MiB. Commands are flat, without loops or nesting. Only whole lines beginning with # are comments; keep comments on separate lines.

AeroSync's GUI can export and import .aeroftp-script files. The exported comments identify preset settings the CLI cannot apply, while metadata preserves them for re-import. Review those comments before scheduling an export with cron or Task Scheduler.