CyberDuck Expert

Overview

Provide expert assistance with CyberDuck (GUI) and duck CLI for file transfer and cloud storage operations. Cover all major protocols (FTP, SFTP, S3, WebDAV, Google Drive, Dropbox, Azure, Backblaze B2) and operations (upload, download, sync, list, delete, permissions).

When to Use This Skill

Trigger this skill when the user needs to:

• Transfer files to/from remote servers or cloud storage
• Work with FTP, SFTP, FTPS, or WebDAV protocols
• Manage S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob, or Backblaze B2 buckets
• Synchronize local and remote directories
• Automate file transfer operations via CLI
• Configure connection profiles or bookmarks
• Handle batch operations on remote files
• Work with CDN configurations (CloudFront, Akamai, Fastly)

Core Concepts

Duck CLI vs CyberDuck GUI

duck CLI: Command-line interface for automation and scripting. Installed via:

• macOS: brew install duck
• Windows: Download from https://duck.sh/
• Linux: Download from https://duck.sh/

CyberDuck GUI: Desktop application for interactive file management. Download from https://cyberduck.io/

Connection URL Format

Duck CLI uses URL-based connections with the format:

protocol://username:password@hostname/path

Examples:

• FTP: ftp://user:pass@ftp.example.com/remote/path
• SFTP: sftp://user@example.com/home/user/files
• S3: s3://bucket-name/prefix/
• Google Drive: googledrive://user@gmail.com/folder-id

Authentication Methods

1. Password in URL: protocol://user:pass@host/path
2. SSH Key: sftp://user@host/path (uses ~/.ssh/id_rsa by default)
3. AWS Credentials: Uses ~/.aws/credentials for S3
4. OAuth: Required for Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive
5. Bookmark/Profile: --username profile-name

Common Operations

Upload Files

Upload single file:

duck --upload protocol://host/remote/path /local/file.txt

Upload directory recursively:

duck --upload protocol://host/remote/path/ /local/directory/

Upload with specific permissions:

duck --upload protocol://host/remote/path /local/file.txt --permissions 644

Download Files

Download single file:

duck --download protocol://host/remote/file.txt /local/destination/

Download directory recursively:

duck --download protocol://host/remote/directory/ /local/destination/

Synchronization

Sync local to remote (mirror mode):

duck --synchronize protocol://host/remote/path/ /local/directory/

Sync with delete (exact mirror):

duck --synchronize protocol://host/remote/path/ /local/directory/ --delete

List and Browse

List directory contents:

duck --list protocol://host/remote/path/

List with long format (permissions, size, date):

duck --list protocol://host/remote/path/ --long

Delete Operations

Delete single file:

duck --delete protocol://host/remote/file.txt

Delete directory recursively:

duck --delete protocol://host/remote/directory/

Create Directories

duck --mkdir protocol://host/remote/new-directory/

Copy and Move

Copy within same protocol:

duck --copy protocol://host/source/file.txt protocol://host/destination/

Move/rename:

duck --move protocol://host/old-name.txt protocol://host/new-name.txt

Protocol-Specific Guidance

S3 and S3-Compatible Storage

S3 bucket URL format:

s3://bucket-name/prefix/path/

Set storage class:

duck --upload s3://bucket/path/ /local/file --storage-class STANDARD_IA

Enable server-side encryption:

duck --upload s3://bucket/path/ /local/file --encryption AES256

Set ACL:

duck --upload s3://bucket/path/ /local/file --acl public-read

Invalidate CloudFront distribution:

duck --invalidate s3://bucket/path/file.txt --distribution-id E1234567890ABC

SFTP/SSH

Use specific SSH key:

duck --upload sftp://user@host/path/ /local/file -i ~/.ssh/custom_key

Specify port:

duck --upload sftp://user@host:2222/path/ /local/file

FTP/FTPS

Explicit TLS (FTPS):

duck --upload ftps://user:pass@host/path/ /local/file

Passive mode (default):

duck --upload ftp://user:pass@host/path/ /local/file

Active mode:

duck --upload ftp://user:pass@host/path/ /local/file --active

Google Drive

First-time OAuth (opens browser):

duck --list googledrive://user@gmail.com/

Specify folder by ID:

duck --upload googledrive://user@gmail.com/1a2b3c4d5e6f/ /local/file

Azure Blob Storage

duck --upload azure://account.blob.core.windows.net/container/path/ /local/file

Backblaze B2

duck --upload b2://bucket-name/path/ /local/file

Advanced Options

Bandwidth Throttling

Limit upload speed to 1 MB/s:

duck --upload protocol://host/path/ /local/file --throttle 1048576

Resume Transfers

Enable resume for interrupted transfers:

duck --upload protocol://host/path/ /local/file --resume

Parallel Transfers

Set number of parallel connections:

duck --upload protocol://host/path/ /local/directory/ --parallel 5

Retry Logic

Set retry attempts and delay:

duck --upload protocol://host/path/ /local/file --retry 3 --retry-delay 5

Verbose Output

Enable detailed logging:

duck --upload protocol://host/path/ /local/file --verbose

Quiet mode (suppress output):

duck --upload protocol://host/path/ /local/file --quiet

Timestamp Preservation

Preserve modification times:

duck --upload protocol://host/path/ /local/file --preserve

Bookmarks and Profiles

Save Connection Profile

Create bookmark from command line:

duck --bookmark protocol://user@host/path/ --nickname "My Server"

Use Saved Profile

List available bookmarks:

duck --list-bookmarks

Use bookmark by name:

duck --upload "My Server" /local/file

Scripting Best Practices

Error Handling

Check exit codes:

duck --upload sftp://host/path/ /local/file
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "Upload successful"
else
    echo "Upload failed"
    exit 1
fi

Batch Operations

Upload multiple files with loop:

for file in /local/directory/*.txt; do
    duck --upload protocol://host/remote/ "$file"
done

Logging

Redirect output to log file:

duck --upload protocol://host/path/ /local/file --verbose > transfer.log 2>&1

Credentials Management

Use environment variables:

export DUCK_USERNAME="myuser"
export DUCK_PASSWORD="mypass"
duck --upload ftp://$DUCK_USERNAME:$DUCK_PASSWORD@host/path/ /local/file

Store in secure credential manager instead of scripts.

Common Issues and Solutions

Permission Denied

• Verify credentials are correct
• Check SSH key permissions (should be 600)
• Ensure target directory has write permissions
• For S3, verify IAM permissions

Connection Timeout

• Check firewall rules
• Verify hostname/IP is reachable
• For FTP, try switching between active/passive modes
• Increase timeout: --timeout 300

Transfer Interrupted

• Use --resume flag to continue
• Check network stability
• Consider bandwidth throttling if network is unstable

Character Encoding Issues

Specify encoding:

duck --upload protocol://host/path/ /local/file --encoding UTF-8

Quick Reference Commands

# Upload
duck --upload REMOTE LOCAL

# Download
duck --download REMOTE LOCAL

# List
duck --list REMOTE

# Delete
duck --delete REMOTE

# Sync
duck --synchronize REMOTE LOCAL

# Create directory
duck --mkdir REMOTE

# Copy
duck --copy SOURCE DESTINATION

# Move
duck --move SOURCE DESTINATION

# Edit remote file
duck --edit REMOTE

# Get file info
duck --info REMOTE

Additional Resources

For detailed reference documentation on specific protocols and advanced features, load:

• references/protocols.md – Detailed protocol specifications and authentication
• references/cli_options.md – Complete CLI options reference
• references/troubleshooting.md – Detailed troubleshooting guide

For example scripts and automation templates, see:

• scripts/backup_script.sh – Example backup automation
• scripts/batch_upload.py – Python wrapper for batch operations