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Uploading/installing a plugin without using FTP | Forum

Topic location: Forum home » Support » General Questions
Sam
Sam Oct 7 '13
Hi,  I setup oxwall on a lamp stack manually. I'm not using cpanel. An FTP server wasn't mentioned in the requirements of the manual installation guide. Unfortunately, the admin of the datacenter doesn't want his clients (me) to install an ftp server on our VM that's hosting the oxwall software.


   I'd like to install the data importer plugin, however the software is asking me for FTP credentials. I was thinking that "FTP access" was just a metaphor for sending the file via http GET or POST and using the credentials provided to copy/install the file into the plugins folder. It would seem I'm wrong and an actual FTP server is required to install plugins. I'd rather not install an FTP server. Is there a way to install this data exporter plugin by using scp and then copying it to some folder or manually installing it? 


Thanks.


Maybe it would be a great idea to update the manual installation directions as well as the server requirements to reflect that an FTP server is required to install plugins.

Sam
Sam Oct 7 '13
I figured it out. It's mentioned at the bottom of http://docs.oxwall.org/install:plugin


There are members on my team who aren't' familiar with linux who'll likely want to install their own plugins. Instead of needing to contact me all the time, couldn't I just write a plugin to upload a plugin via http get or post and install it to ow_pluginfiles as that folder is world writable?

ross Team
ross Oct 9 '13
Yes, Sam you can upload a plugin via FTP in the ow_plugins folder, then go to your Admin Panel and install it manually. 
John
John May 24 '14
Sam, I'm not sure but you may be making things a little over complicated. To my knowledge, every server gives you FTP access, otherwise how would you ever be able to upload scripts to them. That would be like someone selling you a house but refusing to give you a front door key.

Allowing team members to have access to a server and uploading plugins worries me a lot. In reality, only one person should be responsible for this to maintain a stable and consistent web site. One ship, one captain!

FTP is not as confusing as it may seem. It's simply a means of getting files and plugins to the server. It's called "File Transfer Protocol" and that's all it is. It transfers files. You don't need to know a thing about Linux to use it.

First up you need an FTP program and there are many. FileZilla stands out as being the best and I've been using it for years. There are minimal settings required and you can use it for all sites on all you servers. I have about ten sites on 3 servers myself.

- Install Filezilla and open it.
- Go to File/Site Manager and a window will appear.
- Click the New Site button and give your site a name. Mysite.
- In the General Tab, enter:
     Host: The host name for your site. Usually mysite.com.
     Protocol: Select FTP
     Encryption: Select Plain FTP
     Login Type: Normal
     User: Enter your site username supplied by Host and used to access the site or Control Panel.
     Password: Ditto

- Go to the Transfer Settings tab and make sure the transfer mode is default.

- Click OK and you should be ready to FTP.

----------------------------
- In the left pane of FileZilla locate the folder on your PC that contains the plugin. Keep in mind, that plugins are actually in a folder inside another folder. Click the first folder say xxx and you'll find yet another folder called xxx. That's the folder you must upload, not the first one.

- Go to the second pane and navigate to your oxwall site: often public_html/mysite.
- Go to the plugin's folder: /ow_plugins and open it.
- Drag the plugin folder from the left pane to the right pane and wait for it to be transfered. Somewhere on the screen you'l see the files being uploaded and it can take time on a busy server. Be patient.

A message like "Files Uploaded" will eventually appear.

- When finished, close Filezilla File/Exit, access Oxwall and the new plugin should appear in admin/plugins.

- Install the plugin

Once experienced, this process will take five minutes.

If you have multiple sites, when you open fileZilla/File/Site manager, choose the right site first. Usually FileZilla remembers the respective folders or you can force it to.

I've never found a host that uses different passwords for FTP. If the above doesn't work, ask the host for the correct paths and password.












The Forum post is edited by John May 24 '14
Regis Grison
Regis Grison May 26 '14
John, you only know FTP but it's not the only way. I use ssh with unison. I have a list of changes and I upload only changed files with ssl encyption without risking FTP bruteforce.

And yes, personal servers have FTP. Professional may have one but it's not always the case.
John
John May 28 '14
Regis, I'm sure there's a thousand ways to skin the cat, but at my age I try to make life uncomplicated. FTP works for me, it's simple and I don't get over excited about SSL encryption or brute force on my sites. I haven't had a problem for almost 20 years but?

Not sure I mentioned personal servers, but surely FTP on a personal server is simply copying a file to the .www folder? Not sure I want to complicate it any more than that.
Regis Grison
Regis Grison Jun 1 '14
Yes, but I replied to your sentence : "every server gives you FTP access"

That's not true.

I did not tell you to change the way you use your server but you can't tell to people that use something else than FTP to do it.
John
John Jun 1 '14
Sam solved his problem using FTP, even though he may not know it. Problem solved, issue resolved, no further comment.
Dominic
Dominic Jan 20 '17
Easy to do without using FTP.


1. SSH into the server

ssh user@123.456.789.101


2. Browse to the ow_plugins directory

cd /var/www/html/ow_plugins


3. Download .zip of plugin you want from the store (For example https://developers.oxwall.com/store/item/1338)

curl http://storage.oxwall.org/download-item/?fileId=9465  --output fungif.zip


4. Extract the .zip file then remove the .zip file

unzip fungif.zip && rm fungif.zip


5. Install plugin in admin panel. Job Done!

The Forum post is edited by Dominic Jan 20 '17
Regis Grison
Regis Grison Jan 23 '17
Great!

And then you can't upgrade!
ali
ali Apr 11 '23
В Арт Академи в София, децата могат да се научат на различни техники за рисуване, керамика, крафт с полимерна глина и много други изкуствени дейности. През последните години, училището се е утвърдило като един от най-добрите центрове за изкуство за деца в София. Една от големите предимства на Арт Академи е, че децата не само могат да се забавляват, но и да учат много полезни умения като търпение, точност и творческо мислене. Децата могат да се развиват в своите умения и да изразят своята индивидуалност. В Арт Академи има и опитни учители, които ще насочат децата и ще им помогнат да развият своя талант. Всички материали и оборудване, необходими за изкуството, са на разположение в училището. Арт Академи