I’ve been using the FTP node for a long time now (using it in an n8n Cloud workflow), and I’ve noted around April 9 (edit: actually, since March 31) that the FTP list response is coming back empty for my folder. I’ve actually had this problem before.
The problem is that when I check this SFTP server and folder in a separate program (e.g. Cyberduck) I can see the contents of the folder and all the files within.
I tried an experiment whereby I duplicated the folder (e.g. /IN/reports-2) on the server and tried to list the folder’s contents within n8n and it came back with an error saying the folder doesn’t exist.
When I put in other paths to list, it seems to work, e.g. /IN and /IN/invoices works fine, however /IN/reports and /IN/reports-2 doesn’t. But I can report that when listing /IN/invoices it only shows 145 files from Dec 3 2025 to March 30 2026 (there should be only 45 files dated from Dec 6 2025 to April 24 2026 in there).
I’m unsure why this behaviour is occuring and it seems specific to the FTP node on n8n Cloud as using it locally in a dev self-hosted n8n it works fine (just like in the original issue). Perhaps it’s something to do with how the n8n Cloud instance is configured, or how the SFTP handler within the node is configured.
I have also recently upgraded my Cloud instance to v2.17.8, however this error was occuring before that.
Has anyone else had this occuring and would you know of any way I could ensure that the FTP node is always returning the current/live version of the SFTP folder contents?
good day @lvl99
One thing I’d add is that some SFTP servers behave differently depending on the directory listing mode (for example LIST vs MLSD) or how the client resolves symlinks and permissions, which could explain why specific folders return stale or empty results only in Cloud. Since you mentioned it works locally, I’d test the same credentials with an SFTP CLI client to compare the raw server response and share that with n8n support. I’d also check whether those folders recently exceeded a file-count limit or contain filenames/metadata that the Cloud node parser may not be handling correctly.
@lvl99 bypass the FTP node entirely — use the SSH node to run ls against the same server, that’ll confirm if it’s the node or the Cloud connection layer and also gets you the file list right now.
Plug your SFTP host/credentials into the SSH node — same server, same key/password. If that returns the correct 45 files in /IN/reports, the FTP node on Cloud is definitely bugged and you should open a ticket at help@n8n.io referencing the stale listing.
I’ve tried creating a personal workflow using different credentials set (but same details). Doesn’t work, unfortunately.
I cannot currently get the SSH to work. Seems there’s a restriction in the OS configuration that is blocking connection via SSH – limited only to SFTP. My organisation’s IT has also strengthened security rules since I set this up and I can’t SSH into the machines to affect the OS configuration now to enable SSH connection
