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How to download and install FileZilla on Mac

FileZilla Client is a free FTP, FTPS and SFTP app, and the only safe place to get it is the FileZilla project’s own website. Here is how to pick the right build, get past the paid editions on the download page and install it.

FileZilla

  • macOS 10.13.2 or later
  • Apple Silicon and Intel
  • Free, open source
Official FileZilla websitefilezilla-project.org ↗

The links go to the developer’s website (filezilla-project.org). MacWashing is not affiliated with the developer and keeps no installers.

Which version to download

FileZilla has separate builds for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, and the download page usually offers the right one. To check your chip yourself:

  1. Choose Apple menu › About This Mac.
  2. If you see Chip with Apple M1, M2 or later, take macOS (Apple Silicon). If you see Processor with Intel, take macOS (Intel).

Download FileZilla only from filezilla-project.org. The page also shows ads and offers paid editions: banners are not the download button.

How to install FileZilla

  1. On the download page, click Download FileZilla Client.
  2. A window compares editions. For the free client, click Download under FileZilla (Free). The other columns are paid.
  3. Open the downloaded .app.tar.bz2 file in Downloads: macOS unpacks FileZilla next to it.
  4. Drag FileZilla to the Applications folder.
  5. Open FileZilla from Applications and click Open when macOS asks about an app downloaded from the internet.

On a Mac the download is the app itself in an archive, not an installer, so nothing else gets installed with it.

What to set up after the first launch

  • Access to your folders. The first time you open the Desktop, Documents or Downloads folder in FileZilla, macOS asks for permission. Click Allow, or change it later in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Files and Folders.
  • Saved passwords. FileZilla can remember server passwords in its Site Manager. Protect them with a master password in FileZilla’s settings.
  • Updates. FileZilla checks for new versions and offers to download them. Keep it current, as old versions miss security fixes.
  • The archive. Move the .app.tar.bz2 from Downloads to the Trash once FileZilla runs.

If FileZilla won’t install or open

  • «FileZilla is damaged and can’t be opened». The download was incomplete. Delete it and download it again from the FileZilla project’s website.
  • FileZilla won’t start. Check that you took the build for your chip, and that your Mac runs macOS 10.13.2 or later.
  • FileZilla can’t read a local folder. Allow it in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Files and Folders or Full Disk Access, then restart FileZilla.

Alternatives to FileZilla

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Questions and answers

Is FileZilla for Mac free?

Yes. FileZilla Client is free and open source. FileZilla Pro, with cloud storage support, and RemoteDrive are separate paid apps.

Is FileZilla in the Mac App Store?

Only the paid FileZilla Pro is. The free FileZilla Client comes from the FileZilla project’s website.

Does the FileZilla download for Mac come with extra software?

No. On a Mac you get the app in an archive and drag it to Applications yourself. The download page offers paid editions, but you can simply pick the free one.