FtpWebRequest Class

Definition

Implements a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client.

public ref class FtpWebRequest sealed : System::Net::WebRequest
public sealed class FtpWebRequest : System.Net.WebRequest
type FtpWebRequest = class
    inherit WebRequest
Public NotInheritable Class FtpWebRequest
Inherits WebRequest
Inheritance
FtpWebRequest
Inheritance

Examples

The following code example demonstrates deleting a file from an FTP server.

static bool DeleteFileOnServer( Uri^ serverUri )
{
   // The serverUri parameter should use the ftp:// scheme.
   // It contains the name of the server file that is to be deleted.
   // Example: ftp://contoso.com/someFile.txt.
   // 
   if ( serverUri->Scheme != Uri::UriSchemeFtp )
   {
      return false;
   }

   // Get the object used to communicate with the server.
   FtpWebRequest^ request = dynamic_cast<FtpWebRequest^>(WebRequest::Create( serverUri ));
   request->Method = WebRequestMethods::Ftp::DeleteFile;
   FtpWebResponse^ response = dynamic_cast<FtpWebResponse^>(request->GetResponse());
   Console::WriteLine( "Delete status: {0}", response->StatusDescription );
   response->Close();
   return true;
}
public static bool DeleteFileOnServer(Uri serverUri)
{
    // The serverUri parameter should use the ftp:// scheme.
    // It contains the name of the server file that is to be deleted.
    // Example: ftp://contoso.com/someFile.txt.
    //

    if (serverUri.Scheme != Uri.UriSchemeFtp)
    {
        return false;
    }
    // Get the object used to communicate with the server.
    FtpWebRequest request = (FtpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(serverUri);
    request.Method = WebRequestMethods.Ftp.DeleteFile;

    FtpWebResponse response = (FtpWebResponse) request.GetResponse();
    Console.WriteLine("Delete status: {0}",response.StatusDescription);
    response.Close();
    return true;
}

The following code example demonstrates downloading a file from an FTP server by using the WebClient class.

static bool DisplayFileFromServer( Uri^ serverUri )
{
   // The serverUri parameter should start with the ftp:// scheme.
   if ( serverUri->Scheme != Uri::UriSchemeFtp )
   {
      return false;
   }

   // Get the object used to communicate with the server.
   WebClient^ request = gcnew WebClient;

   // This example assumes the FTP site uses anonymous logon.
   request->Credentials = gcnew NetworkCredential( "anonymous","janeDoe@contoso.com" );
   try
   {
      array<Byte>^newFileData = request->DownloadData( serverUri->ToString() );
      String^ fileString = System::Text::Encoding::UTF8->GetString( newFileData );
      Console::WriteLine( fileString );
   }
   catch ( WebException^ e ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( e );
   }

   return true;
}
public static bool DisplayFileFromServer(Uri serverUri)
{
    // The serverUri parameter should start with the ftp:// scheme.
    if (serverUri.Scheme != Uri.UriSchemeFtp)
    {
        return false;
    }
    // Get the object used to communicate with the server.
    WebClient request = new WebClient();

    // This example assumes the FTP site uses anonymous logon.
    request.Credentials = new NetworkCredential ("anonymous","janeDoe@contoso.com");
    try
    {
        byte [] newFileData = request.DownloadData (serverUri.ToString());
        string fileString = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(newFileData);
        Console.WriteLine(fileString);
    }
    catch (WebException e)
    {
        Console.WriteLine(e.ToString());
    }
    return true;
}

The following code example demonstrates using asynchronous operations to upload a file to an FTP server.

#using <System.dll>

using namespace System;
using namespace System::Net;
using namespace System::Threading;
using namespace System::IO;

public ref class FtpState
{
private:
   ManualResetEvent^ wait;
   FtpWebRequest^ request;
   String^ fileName;
   Exception^ operationException;
   String^ status;

public:
   FtpState()
   {
      wait = gcnew ManualResetEvent( false );
   }

   property ManualResetEvent^ OperationComplete 
   {
      ManualResetEvent^ get()
      {
         return wait;
      }

   }

   property FtpWebRequest^ Request 
   {
      FtpWebRequest^ get()
      {
         return request;
      }

      void set( FtpWebRequest^ value )
      {
         request = value;
      }

   }

   property String^ FileName 
   {
      String^ get()
      {
         return fileName;
      }

      void set( String^ value )
      {
         fileName = value;
      }

   }

   property Exception^ OperationException 
   {
      Exception^ get()
      {
         return operationException;
      }

      void set( Exception^ value )
      {
         operationException = value;
      }

   }

   property String^ StatusDescription 
   {
      String^ get()
      {
         return status;
      }

      void set( String^ value )
      {
         status = value;
      }

   }
};

public ref class AsynchronousFtpUpLoader
{
public:

   // Command line arguments are two strings:
   // 1. The url that is the name of the file being uploaded to the server.
   // 2. The name of the file on the local machine.
   //
   static void Main()
   {
      array<String^>^args = Environment::GetCommandLineArgs();

      // Create a Uri instance with the specified URI string.
      // If the URI is not correctly formed, the Uri constructor
      // will throw an exception.
      ManualResetEvent^ waitObject;
      Uri^ target = gcnew Uri( args[ 1 ] );
      String^ fileName = args[ 2 ];
      FtpState^ state = gcnew FtpState;
      FtpWebRequest ^ request = dynamic_cast<FtpWebRequest^>(WebRequest::Create( target ));
      request->Method = WebRequestMethods::Ftp::UploadFile;

      // This example uses anonymous logon.
      // The request is anonymous by default; the credential does not have to be specified. 
      // The example specifies the credential only to
      // control how actions are logged on the server.
      request->Credentials = gcnew NetworkCredential( "anonymous","janeDoe@contoso.com" );

      // Store the request in the object that we pass into the
      // asynchronous operations.
      state->Request = request;
      state->FileName = fileName;

      // Get the event to wait on.
      waitObject = state->OperationComplete;

      // Asynchronously get the stream for the file contents.
      request->BeginGetRequestStream( gcnew AsyncCallback( EndGetStreamCallback ), state );

      // Block the current thread until all operations are complete.
      waitObject->WaitOne();

      // The operations either completed or threw an exception.
      if ( state->OperationException != nullptr )
      {
         throw state->OperationException;
      }
      else
      {
         Console::WriteLine( "The operation completed - {0}", state->StatusDescription );
      }
   }

private:
   static void EndGetStreamCallback( IAsyncResult^ ar )
   {
      FtpState^ state = dynamic_cast<FtpState^>(ar->AsyncState);
      Stream^ requestStream = nullptr;

      // End the asynchronous call to get the request stream.
      try
      {
         requestStream = state->Request->EndGetRequestStream( ar );

         // Copy the file contents to the request stream.
         const int bufferLength = 2048;
         array<Byte>^buffer = gcnew array<Byte>(bufferLength);
         int count = 0;
         int readBytes = 0;
         FileStream^ stream = File::OpenRead( state->FileName );
         do
         {
            readBytes = stream->Read( buffer, 0, bufferLength );
            requestStream->Write( buffer, 0, bufferLength );
            count += readBytes;
         }
         while ( readBytes != 0 );
         Console::WriteLine( "Writing {0} bytes to the stream.", count );

         // IMPORTANT: Close the request stream before sending the request.
         requestStream->Close();

         // Asynchronously get the response to the upload request.
         state->Request->BeginGetResponse( gcnew AsyncCallback( EndGetResponseCallback ), state );
      }
      // Return exceptions to the main application thread.
      catch ( Exception^ e ) 
      {
         Console::WriteLine( "Could not get the request stream." );
         state->OperationException = e;
         state->OperationComplete->Set();
         return;
      }
   }

   // The EndGetResponseCallback method  
   // completes a call to BeginGetResponse.
   static void EndGetResponseCallback( IAsyncResult^ ar )
   {
      FtpState^ state = dynamic_cast<FtpState^>(ar->AsyncState);
      FtpWebResponse ^ response = nullptr;
      try
      {
         response = dynamic_cast<FtpWebResponse^>(state->Request->EndGetResponse( ar ));
         response->Close();
         state->StatusDescription = response->StatusDescription;

         // Signal the main application thread that 
         // the operation is complete.
         state->OperationComplete->Set();
      }
      // Return exceptions to the main application thread.
      catch ( Exception^ e ) 
      {
         Console::WriteLine( "Error getting response." );
         state->OperationException = e;
         state->OperationComplete->Set();
      }
   }
};

int main()
{
   AsynchronousFtpUpLoader::Main();
}
using System;
using System.Net;
using System.Threading;

using System.IO;
namespace Examples.System.Net
{
    public class FtpState
    {
        private ManualResetEvent wait;
        private FtpWebRequest request;
        private string fileName;
        private Exception operationException = null;
        string status;

        public FtpState()
        {
            wait = new ManualResetEvent(false);
        }

        public ManualResetEvent OperationComplete
        {
            get {return wait;}
        }

        public FtpWebRequest Request
        {
            get {return request;}
            set {request = value;}
        }

        public string FileName
        {
            get {return fileName;}
            set {fileName = value;}
        }
        public Exception OperationException
        {
            get {return operationException;}
            set {operationException = value;}
        }
        public string StatusDescription
        {
            get {return status;}
            set {status = value;}
        }
    }
    public class AsynchronousFtpUpLoader
    {
        // Command line arguments are two strings:
        // 1. The url that is the name of the file being uploaded to the server.
        // 2. The name of the file on the local machine.
        //
        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // Create a Uri instance with the specified URI string.
            // If the URI is not correctly formed, the Uri constructor
            // will throw an exception.
            ManualResetEvent waitObject;

            Uri target = new Uri (args[0]);
            string fileName = args[1];
            FtpState state = new FtpState();
            FtpWebRequest request = (FtpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(target);
            request.Method = WebRequestMethods.Ftp.UploadFile;

            // This example uses anonymous logon.
            // The request is anonymous by default; the credential does not have to be specified.
            // The example specifies the credential only to
            // control how actions are logged on the server.

            request.Credentials = new NetworkCredential ("anonymous","janeDoe@contoso.com");

            // Store the request in the object that we pass into the
            // asynchronous operations.
            state.Request = request;
            state.FileName = fileName;

            // Get the event to wait on.
            waitObject = state.OperationComplete;

            // Asynchronously get the stream for the file contents.
            request.BeginGetRequestStream(
                new AsyncCallback (EndGetStreamCallback),
                state
            );

            // Block the current thread until all operations are complete.
            waitObject.WaitOne();

            // The operations either completed or threw an exception.
            if (state.OperationException != null)
            {
                throw state.OperationException;
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine("The operation completed - {0}", state.StatusDescription);
            }
        }
        private static void EndGetStreamCallback(IAsyncResult ar)
        {
            FtpState state = (FtpState) ar.AsyncState;

            Stream requestStream = null;
            // End the asynchronous call to get the request stream.
            try
            {
                requestStream = state.Request.EndGetRequestStream(ar);
                // Copy the file contents to the request stream.
                const int bufferLength = 2048;
                byte[] buffer = new byte[bufferLength];
                int count = 0;
                int readBytes = 0;
                FileStream stream = File.OpenRead(state.FileName);
                do
                {
                    readBytes = stream.Read(buffer, 0, bufferLength);
                    requestStream.Write(buffer, 0, readBytes);
                    count += readBytes;
                }
                while (readBytes != 0);
                Console.WriteLine ("Writing {0} bytes to the stream.", count);
                // IMPORTANT: Close the request stream before sending the request.
                requestStream.Close();
                // Asynchronously get the response to the upload request.
                state.Request.BeginGetResponse(
                    new AsyncCallback (EndGetResponseCallback),
                    state
                );
            }
            // Return exceptions to the main application thread.
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Could not get the request stream.");
                state.OperationException = e;
                state.OperationComplete.Set();
                return;
            }
        }

        // The EndGetResponseCallback method
        // completes a call to BeginGetResponse.
        private static void EndGetResponseCallback(IAsyncResult ar)
        {
            FtpState state = (FtpState) ar.AsyncState;
            FtpWebResponse response = null;
            try
            {
                response = (FtpWebResponse) state.Request.EndGetResponse(ar);
                response.Close();
                state.StatusDescription = response.StatusDescription;
                // Signal the main application thread that
                // the operation is complete.
                state.OperationComplete.Set();
            }
            // Return exceptions to the main application thread.
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                Console.WriteLine ("Error getting response.");
                state.OperationException = e;
                state.OperationComplete.Set();
            }
        }
    }
}

Remarks

Important

We don't recommend that you use the FtpWebRequest class for new development. For more information and alternatives to FtpWebRequest, see WebRequest shouldn't be used on GitHub.

To obtain an instance of FtpWebRequest, use the Create method. You can also use the WebClient class to upload and download information from an FTP server. Using either of these approaches, when you specify a network resource that uses the FTP scheme (for example, "ftp://contoso.com") the FtpWebRequest class provides the ability to programmatically interact with FTP servers.

The URI may be relative or absolute. If the URI is of the form "ftp://contoso.com/%2fpath" (%2f is an escaped '/'), then the URI is absolute, and the current directory is /path. If, however, the URI is of the form "ftp://contoso.com/path", first the .NET Framework logs into the FTP server (using the user name and password set by the Credentials property), then the current directory is set to <UserLoginDirectory>/path.

You must have a valid user name and password for the server or the server must allow anonymous logon. You can specify the credentials used to connect to the server by setting the Credentials property or you can include them in the UserInfo portion of the URI passed to the Create method. If you include UserInfo information in the URI, the Credentials property is set to a new network credential with the specified user name and password information.

Caution

Unless the EnableSsl property is true, all data and commands, including your user name and password information, are sent to the server in clear text. Anyone monitoring network traffic can view your credentials and use them to connect to the server. If you are connecting to an FTP server that requires credentials and supports Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), you should set EnableSsl to true.

You must have WebPermission to access the FTP resource; otherwise, a SecurityException exception is thrown.

Specify the FTP command to send to the server by setting the Method property to a value defined in the WebRequestMethods.Ftp structure. To transmit text data, change the UseBinary property from its default value (true) to false. For details and restrictions, see Method.

When using an FtpWebRequest object to upload a file to a server, you must write the file content to the request stream obtained by calling the GetRequestStream method or its asynchronous counterparts, the BeginGetRequestStream and EndGetRequestStream methods. You must write to the stream and close the stream before sending the request.

Requests are sent to the server by calling the GetResponse method or its asynchronous counterparts, the BeginGetResponse and EndGetResponse methods. When the requested operation completes, an FtpWebResponse object is returned. The FtpWebResponse object provides the status of the operation and any data downloaded from the server.

You can set a time-out value for reading or writing to the server by using the ReadWriteTimeout property. If the time-out period is exceeded, the calling method throws a WebException with WebExceptionStatus set to Timeout.

When downloading a file from an FTP server, if the command was successful, the contents of the requested file are available in the response object's stream. You can access this stream by calling the GetResponseStream method. For more information, see FtpWebResponse.

If the Proxy property is set, either directly or in a configuration file, communications with the FTP server are made through the specified proxy. If the specified proxy is an HTTP proxy, only the DownloadFile, ListDirectory, and ListDirectoryDetails commands are supported.

Only downloaded binary content is cached; that is, content received using the DownloadFile command with the UseBinary property set to true.

Multiple FtpWebRequests reuse existing connections, if possible.

For more information about the FTP protocol, see RFC 959: File Transfer Protocol.

Properties

AuthenticationLevel

Gets or sets values indicating the level of authentication and impersonation used for this request.

(Inherited from WebRequest)
CachePolicy

Gets or sets the cache policy for this request.

(Inherited from WebRequest)
ClientCertificates

Gets or sets the certificates used for establishing an encrypted connection to the FTP server.

ConnectionGroupName

Gets or sets the name of the connection group that contains the service point used to send the current request.

ContentLength

Gets or sets a value that is ignored by the FtpWebRequest class.

ContentOffset

Gets or sets a byte offset into the file being downloaded by this request.

ContentType

Always throws a NotSupportedException.

CreatorInstance
Obsolete.

When overridden in a descendant class, gets the factory object derived from the IWebRequestCreate class used to create the WebRequest instantiated for making the request to the specified URI.

(Inherited from WebRequest)
Credentials

Gets or sets the credentials used to communicate with the FTP server.

DefaultCachePolicy

Defines the default cache policy for all FTP requests.

EnableSsl

Gets or sets a Boolean that specifies that an SSL connection should be used.

Headers

Gets an empty WebHeaderCollection object.

ImpersonationLevel

Gets or sets the impersonation level for the current request.

(Inherited from WebRequest)
KeepAlive

Gets or sets a Boolean value that specifies whether the control connection to the FTP server is closed after the request completes.

Method

Gets or sets the command to send to the FTP server.

PreAuthenticate

Always throws a NotSupportedException.

Proxy

Gets or sets the proxy used to communicate with the FTP server.

ReadWriteTimeout

Gets or sets a time-out when reading from or writing to a stream.

RenameTo

Gets or sets the new name of a file being renamed.

RequestUri

Gets the URI requested by this instance.

ServicePoint

Gets the ServicePoint object used to connect to the FTP server.

Timeout

Gets or sets the number of milliseconds to wait for a request.

UseBinary

Gets or sets a Boolean value that specifies the data type for file transfers.

UseDefaultCredentials

Always throws a NotSupportedException.

UsePassive

Gets or sets the behavior of a client application's data transfer process.

Methods

Abort()

Terminates an asynchronous FTP operation.

BeginGetRequestStream(AsyncCallback, Object)

Begins asynchronously opening a request's content stream for writing.

BeginGetResponse(AsyncCallback, Object)

Begins sending a request and receiving a response from an FTP server asynchronously.

CreateObjRef(Type)

Creates an object that contains all the relevant information required to generate a proxy used to communicate with a remote object.

(Inherited from MarshalByRefObject)
EndGetRequestStream(IAsyncResult)

Ends a pending asynchronous operation started with BeginGetRequestStream(AsyncCallback, Object).

EndGetResponse(IAsyncResult)

Ends a pending asynchronous operation started with BeginGetResponse(AsyncCallback, Object).

Equals(Object)

Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object.

(Inherited from Object)
GetHashCode()

Serves as the default hash function.

(Inherited from Object)
GetLifetimeService()
Obsolete.

Retrieves the current lifetime service object that controls the lifetime policy for this instance.

(Inherited from MarshalByRefObject)
GetObjectData(SerializationInfo, StreamingContext)
Obsolete.

Populates a SerializationInfo with the data needed to serialize the target object.

(Inherited from WebRequest)
GetRequestStream()

Retrieves the stream used to upload data to an FTP server.

GetRequestStreamAsync()

When overridden in a descendant class, returns a Stream for writing data to the Internet resource as an asynchronous operation.

(Inherited from WebRequest)
GetResponse()

Returns the FTP server response.

GetResponseAsync()

When overridden in a descendant class, returns a response to an Internet request as an asynchronous operation.

(Inherited from WebRequest)
GetType()

Gets the Type of the current instance.

(Inherited from Object)
InitializeLifetimeService()
Obsolete.

Obtains a lifetime service object to control the lifetime policy for this instance.

(Inherited from MarshalByRefObject)
MemberwiseClone()

Creates a shallow copy of the current Object.

(Inherited from Object)
MemberwiseClone(Boolean)

Creates a shallow copy of the current MarshalByRefObject object.

(Inherited from MarshalByRefObject)
ToString()

Returns a string that represents the current object.

(Inherited from Object)

Explicit Interface Implementations

ISerializable.GetObjectData(SerializationInfo, StreamingContext)
Obsolete.

When overridden in a descendant class, populates a SerializationInfo instance with the data needed to serialize the WebRequest.

(Inherited from WebRequest)

Applies to

See also