How do I download a folder from my server?

If you need to download a large number of files at once, downloading them one by one through the browser isn’t practical. Instead, you can compress them into a single archive first, or use an SFTP client to download everything in bulk. Both options are covered below.

Option 1: Compress and Download

This works entirely through the panel’s File Manager, with no extra software needed until the download step.

1. Open File Manager and navigate to the folder or files you want to download.
2. Click the “…” menu to the right of the file or folder name, and select Compress.
3. This generates a .tar archive containing everything you selected. It will appear in the same directory, usually named after the folder or file you compressed.
4. Click the “…” menu next to the new .tar file, and select Download.
5. Once it finishes downloading to your computer, you’ll need to extract it. .tar files aren’t natively supported by Windows, so use a tool like 7-Zip (free) to open and extract the archive. To extract with 7-Zip: right-click the downloaded .tar file, choose 7-Zip, then Extract Here (or Extract to [folder name]).

Tip: Compressing large folders can take a moment, especially for big worlds or save files. Give the panel time to finish generating the archive before trying to download it.

Option 2: Use WinSCP (Best for Large or Frequent Downloads)

If you’re downloading a large amount of data, or you do this often, an SFTP client like WinSCP is usually faster and more convenient than compressing and downloading through the browser. It lets you connect directly to your server and drag files out, without needing to compress anything first.

1. Download and install WinSCP.
2. Connect to your server using your SFTP details from the panel’s Settings page. For a full walkthrough of finding these details and connecting, see our guide on connecting to your server using SFTP.
3. Once connected, you’ll see your local computer’s files on one side and your server’s files on the other.
4. Select the files or folders you want, and drag them over to your computer’s side to download them.

This method also makes it easy to download only specific files or folders without needing to compress the whole thing first.