So, you’re running a development server on your OSX machine, ey?
No, how do you easily update your WordPress setup? Or install WordPress Plugins? You need FTP connectivity…
First you would check the ‘Sharing’ section in ‘System Preferences’ only to find FTP is not there. So you might think, OSX does not have an FTP server?
Well, it would be a logical assumption because FTP is a bit outdated and WebDAV and SSH can do what FTP does but more secure. Unfortunately, WordPress only supports the FTP protocol.
Do not fear, OSX still carries the FTP servers AND on top of that, no extra configuration is needed, you just have to activate it.
How to activate FTP server on OSX?
To start the FTP server:
sudo -s launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ftp.plistTo quit it:
sudo -s launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ftp.plistIt’s that simple :)
And remember; the FTP server will start automatically on each boot until the ‘quit’ command is used.
Final note; This post is the fifth post in a series to build the “ultimate” setup. See ‘The “Ultimate” Guide …’ for a complete list.