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How to Create FTP User for Specific Directory in Ubuntu [4 Steps]

Walid Al Asad

May 11, 2023

Let’s say you are an administrator and you want to keep your FTP server organized, secured, and manage the resource efficiently. One way to do it is by specifying different directories for different users. In this article, I will show you how to create an FTP user for a specific directory in Ubuntu in simple steps. Remember, you can follow the same process for multiple users.

Key Takeaways

• Creating a User.
• Setting up an FTP server.
• Specifying a Directory for a User.
• Checking the current directory.
• Restricting a user to a directory.
• Disabling an FTP user.

Requirements

• A server computer (Ubuntu installed in VMWare).
• A client computer (Ubuntu installed in Windows Subsystem for Linux).
• Internet Connection.

Process Flow Chart

Distro Used Throughout the Tutorial: Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS

Watch to Create FTP User for Specific Directory in Ubuntu

4 Steps to Create FTP User for a Specific Directory in Ubuntu

Now I will show you how to create an FTP user for a specific directory in Ubuntu. An FTP user is a like a regular user with access to an FTP server. Here I will use Ubuntu installed in VMWare as the server and Ubuntu installed in WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) as the client. You can install Ubuntu in WSL following this article.

Step 01: Create a User in Ubuntu

In the beginning, I will create a user in my Ubuntu using the adduser command. The command asks for the password and other necessary information. To know more about creating users, follow this article. I will create a user named “ftp_user” here.

Steps to follow >

➊ At first, open a Terminal in Ubuntu.

➋ Insert the following command to create a user:

sudo adduser ftp_user

❸ Give your password.

❹ Now set a password for the user.

❺ Retype the password and press ENTER.

❻ Give additional information if you like or keep pressing ENTER to skip.
❼ Finally press “Y” to complete the process.

Step 02: Setup an FTP Server

Secondly, I will set up an FTP server in my Ubuntu. At the end of the process, I will get an IP address, by which I will access the server. To know more about FTP, follow this article.

Steps to follow >

➊ First, press CTRL+ALT+T to launch an Ubuntu Terminal.

❷ Now write the command below to update the system:

sudo apt-get update

❸ Give your password (if necessary) and press ENTER.Wait until the updating process is finished.

❹ Copy the following command to install vsftpd package:

sudo apt-get install vsftpd

sudo nano /etc/vsftpd.conf

write_enable=YES

pasv_min_port=40000

pasv_max_port=60000

❽ Execute the following lines one by one to add rules to the Firewall:

sudo ufw allow 20/tcp

sudo ufw allow 21/tcp

sudo ufw allow from any to any port 40000:60000 proto tcp

sudo systemctl restart vsftpd

sudo systemctl status vsftpd

❿ Finally, insert the command below and hit ENTER to find the IP address of your FTP server:

ifconfig

sudo apt-get install net-tools

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Step 03: Specify Directory

In this section, I will create a directory. Then configure my FTP server so that only a particular user has access to that directory. In this case, the user is “ftp_user”. Now do the following:

Steps to follow >

❶ At the beginning, launch a Terminal in Ubuntu.

❷ Write the following command to create a directory and press ENTER:

sudo mkdir -p /var/ftp/ftp_user

sudo chown ftp_user:ftp_user /var/ftp/ftp_user

❹ Now insert the command below to create the “user_config_dir” directory and hit ENTER:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/vsftpd/user_config_dir

❺ Execute the following command to create and open a file:

sudo nano /etc/vsftpd/user_config_dir/ftp_user

❻ Now add the following line in the user configuration file:

local_root=/var/ftp/ftp_user

sudo nano /etc/vsftpd.conf

❽ Add the following line in the vsftpd.conf file:

user_config_dir=/etc/vsftpd/user_config_dir/

sudo systemctl restart vsftpd

Step 04: Verify the Process

Finally, I will connect to my FTP server from the client computer, which is Ubuntu installed in WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) in my case. For your information, I have used the Windows Terminal program to customize the output.  Then I will check if the directory is my specified directory or not.

Steps to follow >

❶ Launch Ubuntu on your client computer.

❷ Insert the following command to connect to the FTP server:

ftp [email protected]

❸ Provide the password associated with the user.

❹ Write the following command to print the current path:

pwd

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Complementary Information

In this section, I will add some extra information for your benefit. I hope you will find it helpful.

Restrict FTP User From Changing Directory

If you want to prevent an FTP user from changing the directory, you can follow the steps shown here. First, I will remove writing permissions for all from the directory, then edit the vsftpd.conf file.

Steps to follow >

➊ At the beginning, open a Terminal in Ubuntu.

➋ Copy the following command to remove write permission:

sudo chmod a-w /var/ftp/ftp_user

❸ Insert the command below to open the vsftpd.conf file:

sudo nano /etc/vsftpd.conf

chroot_local_user=YES

ftp [email protected]

❻ Then try to change your directory like the below:

cd /etc

How to Disable FTP User in Linux

Disabling FTP user means disallowing a user’s access to the FTP server. You should have a “ftpusers” file in your Linux system. You just need to add the name of the user you want to disable there. Just do the following:

Steps to follow >

❶ Launch a Ubuntu Terminal by pressing CTRL+ALT+T.

❷ Open the “ftpusers” file using the command below:

sudo nano /etc/ftpusers

❸ Provide the password (if necessary).❹ Now add the user who you want to disable:

ftp_user

❺ Now launch a Ubuntu Terminal on your client computer and execute the following command to access the FTP server:

ftp [email protected]

❻ Give the password associated with the user.You should see a “Login failed” message. Thus the user is disabled now.

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Conclusion

In this article, I have shown all the steps necessary to create an FTP user for a specific directory in Ubuntu. I have also added some complimentary information and questions. Hopefully, you have found what you have been looking for in this article. Now you will be able to create an FTP user with a specific directory in Ubuntu.

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