vsftpd

Start vsftpd in standalone mode

$ vsftpd

$ vsftpd [/etc/vsftpd.conf]

$ sudo systemctl start vsftpd

$ sudo systemctl enable vsftpd

$ vsftpd -v

vsftpd [configfile_]

vsftpd (Very Secure FTP Daemon) is a lightweight, secure FTP server for Unix-like systems. It serves as the default FTP server on many Linux distributions including Ubuntu, Fedora, and RHEL.
The daemon can run standalone (recommended) by setting listen=YES in /etc/vsftpd.conf, or be launched via inetd/xinetd. It listens on TCP port 21 by default for control connections.
vsftpd supports anonymous FTP, local user authentication, virtual users via PAM, SSL/TLS encryption (FTPS), and passive mode for NAT environments. Access control is managed through /etc/vsftpd/ftpusers and /etc/vsftpd/user_list.

Key settings in /etc/vsftpd.conf:
listen=YES

Run in standalone mode

Disable anonymous access

Allow local user logins

Allow upload operations

Confine users to home directories

Enable passive mode

Passive mode port range

FTP transmits credentials in cleartext; enable SSL/TLS for security. Passive mode requires firewall rules for the data port range. Consider SFTP (SSH-based) as a more secure alternative to FTP.

vsftpd was written by Chris Evans with a focus on security, becoming the most widely deployed FTP server on Linux. Its design prioritizes security through privilege separation and minimal attack surface.

sftp(1), ftpd(8), ftp(1), proftpd(8)