A running server is only half the job. This page connects to it from the three places people actually use - FileZilla, WinSCP and a phone - and explains the one prompt everyone meets on the first connection and should not click through blindly.
Every SFTP client asks for the same four things: the server address, port 22, your username and your password or key. The differences are only in where each program hides those fields. You will also meet the host key prompt on first contact - the server showing its identity card. Verify it once, properly, and every later connection is checked against it automatically.
sftp://192.168.1.25 - the sftp:// prefix matters, without it FileZilla tries plain FTPFor a connection you will reuse, save it in the Site Manager instead - FileZilla remembers the host key and settings, so future connections are one click.
In WinSCP's login window set File protocol to SFTP, host name to the server IP, port 22, and the same username and password. WinSCP shows its own host key warning on first connection - accept it once you are satisfied it is your server. WinSCP's strengths are its two-panel view, drag-and-drop both ways, and its ability to synchronise a local folder with the server folder, which suits the daily office exchange routine covered in the folder-per-person guide.
On Android and iPhone you need an app that lists SFTP (not just FTP) among its network protocols - several file-manager and dedicated SFTP client apps offer it. The setup is the same four fields, plus the host key confirmation. Two honest cautions: a phone on mobile data is outside your LAN, so the connection only works if the server is reachable through your VPN or a deliberate internet setup; and use a reputable app, because a file client holds your server password - an unknown free app is a strange place to store it.
ipconfig on the server and check you are on the same LAN or VPNGet-Service sshd; start it if it is stoppedSee the complete SFTP server setup on screen, step by step, in the Technical Anshu video.
Watch Full VideoWithout the prefix FileZilla defaults to plain FTP on port 21. An SFTP server does not answer FTP, so the connection fails or times out. Either type sftp:// before the address or set the port to 22 and choose SFTP in the Site Manager.
It is safe when the fingerprint matches your server. On a home LAN most people accept it directly, which is a reasonable risk; for an office server, compare the fingerprint with the one shown on the server before accepting. Never accept a changed-key warning without checking - that warning is the system working as designed.
Yes - through a VPN into your network, after which the phone or laptop behaves as if it were on your LAN. Without a VPN or a forwarded port, the server is deliberately unreachable from the internet.