Server Codex Forums

How can I set up a user account that has ftp access to a particular directory on my disk, but no other kind of access or a standard home directory? I want to let someone else administer one of the sites running off my machine, but I don't want to give them anything except ftp access to that folder.

I am not aware of any way to do this using Jaguar's built-in FTP server. If you're determined to provide access via FTP, I would recommend using a third-party FTP server such as CrushFTP, ftp-config, or Rumpus. These are not free solutions, and like any other FTP server, they usually transmit passwords in cleartext and are thus not very secure.

If the person you want to grant access is using a Mac, you can use the freeware tool SharePoints to create a new user account and add an AppleFileServer (AFS) share point specifically for that person. As you requested, creating a new user via this method will not create a full-fledged OS X user, so you will not see any additional user folders created in the Finder nor will this user have any other privileges.

In fact, you can probably follow similar steps to grant access to Windows or Linux users as well. Instead of AFS, simply create a Samba (SMB) share. Whether you use AFS or SMB, your users will have the benefit of mounting your server share on their desktops, which is a huge usability improvement over dealing with cumbersome FTP clients.

Finally, Haxial's cross-platform KDX client/server application uses an encrypted protocol and may be easier to administrate for some people.

Hope this helps!