WinSCP Bridge

WinSCP is one of the most established file transfer clients on Windows, trusted by system administrators for over two decades. If you have built up a library of saved sessions over the years, AeroFTP can import them so you do not have to re-type everything. And if you need to go the other way, AeroFTP can export your profiles back to WinSCP format.

What this does

AeroFTP and WinSCP are fully interoperable. Import and export server profiles freely between the two tools through the shared WinSCP.ini format.

Import (WinSCP to AeroFTP)

• Reads your WinSCP.ini directly (auto-detected on Windows or manually selected)
• Maps WinSCP session types to AeroFTP protocols
• Upgrades credential security: WinSCP stores passwords using reversible XOR obfuscation with a public algorithm. AeroFTP decodes them and stores them in an AES-256-GCM encrypted vault with Argon2id key derivation
• Duplicate detection: Sessions that match existing profiles are flagged with an "Already exists" badge. You can re-import them to update credentials
• Available in the GUI (Settings > Export/Import > Import from WinSCP) and CLI (aeroftp-cli import winscp)

Export (AeroFTP to WinSCP)

• Exports your server profiles to a standard WinSCP.ini file
• Passwords are obfuscated using WinSCP's own scheme for full compatibility
• Use it to set up WinSCP on another machine or share configurations with colleagues
• Available in the GUI (Settings > Export/Import > Export to WinSCP)

No vendor lock-in. Your data, your choice.

Supported protocols

WinSCP FSProtocol	AeroFTP protocol	Credentials	Notes
0 (SCP)	SFTP	Password (decoded + vault stored)	Mapped to SFTP for better compatibility
1 (SFTP + SCP fallback)	SFTP	Password (decoded + vault stored)	Standard SSH session
2 (SFTP only)	SFTP	Password (decoded + vault stored)	Standard SSH session
5 + Ftps=0 (FTP)	FTP	Password (decoded + vault stored)	Plain FTP
5 + Ftps=1 (FTPS implicit)	FTPS	Password (decoded + vault stored)	Port 990 by default
5 + Ftps=2/3 (FTPS explicit)	FTPS	Password (decoded + vault stored)	Explicit TLS/SSL
6 + Ftps=0 (WebDAV HTTP)	WebDAV	Password (decoded + vault stored)	HTTP transport
6 + Ftps=1 (WebDAV HTTPS)	WebDAV	Password (decoded + vault stored)	HTTPS transport
7 (S3)	S3	Access Key + Secret (vault stored)	Region and path-style options preserved

9 protocol combinations covering the most common WinSCP session types. The mapping works in both directions for import and export.

What is preserved

• Hostname, port, username
• Remote directory (initial path)
• Passwords (decoded on import, re-obfuscated on export)
• S3-specific settings (default region, URL style)
• FTPS mode (implicit vs explicit)
• Session display names (last segment of folder hierarchy)

What requires manual setup

• SSH key authentication (key file paths are not portable across systems)
• WinSCP master password protected configurations (AES-encrypted, not the standard obfuscation)
• Tunnel/jump host settings
• Custom proxy configurations

Security comparison

WinSCP uses a reversible XOR-based obfuscation scheme with Username + Hostname as the key. This is not encryption in any meaningful sense - the algorithm is public and fully documented.

Aspect	WinSCP	AeroFTP
Password storage	XOR obfuscation (reversible, public algorithm)	AES-256-GCM + Argon2id vault
Config file protection	User responsibility	Encrypted at rest
Master password	Optional AES layer (not importable)	Argon2id-protected vault lock
Memory zeroization	Not guaranteed	Passwords cleared from RAM after use

When you import from WinSCP, your credentials are automatically upgraded to the stronger security model. When you export, passwords are re-obfuscated in WinSCP's format for compatibility.

GUI usage

Import

1. Open Settings > Export/Import
2. In the WinSCP section, click Import from WinSCP
3. On Windows, AeroFTP auto-detects %APPDATA%\WinSCP\WinSCP.ini. On other platforms, click Browse to select the file
4. Review the list of detected sessions - servers already in your list are marked "Already exists"
5. Click Import - new servers are added, existing ones are updated with fresh credentials

Export

1. Open Settings > Export/Import
2. In the WinSCP section, click Export to WinSCP
3. Select which servers to include
4. Choose whether to include credentials (passwords will be obfuscated)
5. Save the .ini file

CLI usage

# Import from a WinSCP.ini file
aeroftp-cli import winscp /path/to/WinSCP.ini

# JSON output for scripting (credentials are redacted)
aeroftp-cli import winscp /path/to/WinSCP.ini --json

# On Windows, auto-detect the default location
aeroftp-cli import winscp

How to export from WinSCP

If you do not have direct access to the WinSCP.ini file (for example, if WinSCP stores sessions in the Windows Registry), you can export them:

1. Open WinSCP
2. Go to Session > Sites > Manage Sites
3. Select the sessions you want to export (or select all)
4. Click Other > Export/Backup Configuration
5. Save the .ini file
6. Import it into AeroFTP using the steps above

Frequently asked questions

Can I import sessions stored in the Windows Registry? Not directly. Export them from WinSCP first using the steps above, then import the exported .ini file.

What about sessions protected with a WinSCP master password? These use additional AES encryption on top of the standard obfuscation. Currently, AeroFTP can only import sessions using the standard obfuscation. Export without master password protection, or re-enter credentials manually.

Are SCP sessions supported? Yes. SCP sessions (FSProtocol=0) are mapped to SFTP, which uses the same SSH transport with better feature support (directory listings, file attributes, resume).

Can I round-trip profiles between AeroFTP and WinSCP? Yes. Import from WinSCP, work in AeroFTP, and export back to WinSCP whenever you need. Protocol mappings and password encoding are fully reversible.

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WinSCP is a trademark of Martin Prikryl. AeroFTP is not affiliated with or endorsed by the WinSCP project.