SFTP Server setup with ansible playbook and bash script

Install & Configure

• Create a python virtual environment with ansible installed in it

sudo apt update && sudo apt install python3-pip python3-venv
python3 -m venv ansible
source ansible/bin/active
pip install wheel ansible==2.9.11

• Add your server in the ansible inventory file hosts

• Run the sftp-server.yml playbook with ansible

ansible-playbook sftp-server.yml

Notes

• There is also a Vagrantfile included in the project if you want to test it locally
  • Install vagrant from https://www.vagrantup.com/downloads
  • Install VirtualBox https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
  • Run vagrant up in the tests folder
  • Run the ansible playbook ansible-playbook sftp-server.yml

sftpuseradd manual

• This is the script that the will create the sftp users

• The script is installed in /usr/local/sbin/sftpuseradd

• It requires root/admin privileges to run

• The users home directory will be created in /srv/sftp by default, configurable in the ansible playbook or shell script

• The created users are set to expire after 15 days from their creation , also configurable in the ansible playbook or the actual script

• The created accounts have read-only permissions

• View help message of the script

sudo sftpuseradd
# or
sudo sftpuseradd -h
# or
sudo sftpuseradd --help

• Create an sftp user

sudo sftpuseradd testing1

• Create an sftp user and send email with credentials to root@localhost by default

sudo sftpuseradd -m testing1

TODO

• Maybe: HTTP Access to SFTP Home with same username/password
• Maybe: Store sftp users in config file in git/gitlab and create the users with CI/CD pipeline