How does it work?

1. Decide which integration pattern you need. Use SFTP To Go webhooks when n8n should react to file events. Use SFTP To Go File Automations when files should be moved, copied, deleted, encrypted, decrypted, or otherwise handled inside SFTP To Go before n8n is triggered. Use n8n’s FTP node when the workflow needs to connect to SFTP To Go storage directly. Use the SFTP To Go REST API when n8n needs to manage supported SFTP To Go objects programmatically.
2. In SFTP To Go, create or select the credential n8n should use for SFTP file access. Copy the SFTP host, username, authentication details, and port by following the SFTP To Go documentation for SFTP connections.
3. In n8n, create an FTP credential and configure it for SFTP access. Use the SFTP To Go host, port, username, and authentication method. Use the narrowest SFTP To Go credential and directory permissions that make sense for the workflow.
4. Add n8n’s FTP node to any workflow that needs to work with files in SFTP To Go. Choose the operation that matches the workflow, such as List, Download, Upload, Delete, or Rename or move, and point the node to the relevant SFTP path.
5. If n8n should start when something happens in SFTP To Go, create a new n8n workflow and add a Webhook node as the trigger. Set the HTTP method to POST, choose a clear path, and configure authentication if required by your security model.
6. While building the workflow, use the n8n test webhook URL and select Listen for test event. Once the workflow is ready and active, use the production webhook URL for the SFTP To Go webhook or File Automation endpoint.
7. In SFTP To Go, decide whether to use a standard webhook notification or a File Automation. For a direct event trigger, create a webhook notification for file upload, file deletion, or file download events. For a controlled file process, create a File Automation with the required event or schedule trigger, add the file actions in the order they should run, and finish with a webhook request to the n8n production webhook URL.
8. When using SFTP To Go webhook notifications, choose the endpoint type Webhook, paste the n8n webhook URL, select the relevant topics, and add filters where needed. Use filters such as path, actor type, actor ID, or file pattern to prevent unrelated file activity from triggering the n8n workflow.
9. When using SFTP To Go File Automations, use a trigger such as File created, File downloaded, File deleted, or a schedule. Add a Type is File filter where the workflow should ignore folder events. Then add file actions such as copy, move, delete, PGP encrypt, PGP decrypt, delay, Slack notification, Teams notification, email notification, or webhook request.
10. If the file should be prepared before n8n acts on it, keep that file handling inside SFTP To Go. For example, use File created → PGP decrypt → Move → Send webhook request, or Scheduled trigger → PGP encrypt → Copy → Send webhook request. Then let n8n handle the external app logic after the file is ready.
11. In n8n, inspect the incoming webhook payload. For SFTP To Go webhook notifications, useful fields include Topic, Data.Path, Data.Size, Actor, and Metadata. For File Automation webhook actions, the payload also includes automation, execution, action, attempt, and idempotency metadata.
12. Branch the n8n workflow based on the incoming event. For example, route file.created events to validation and processing steps, file.downloaded events to audit notifications, and file.deleted events to record updates or review tasks.
13. If n8n needs the file content, use the FTP node to download the file from SFTP To Go using the path from the webhook payload. If the payload comes from older webhook notifications where Data.Path is URL encoded, decode the path before using it in the FTP node.
14. After n8n downloads or receives the file reference, continue the workflow in the systems that need business context. For example, n8n can update a CRM, create a support ticket, notify a team, send a message for review, enrich a database row, call a validation API, or route the file metadata into another workflow.
15. If n8n generates a file that must return to SFTP To Go, use the FTP node’s upload operation to write the result to the correct SFTP path. Where the return file requires storage-side handling such as archive, move, copy, delete, encrypt, or decrypt, keep those actions in SFTP To Go File Automations where possible.
16. If the n8n workflow needs to manage SFTP To Go configuration, use the n8n HTTP Request node to call the SFTP To Go REST API. Configure the method, URL, headers, body, and bearer token according to the SFTP To Go API documentation, and limit API access to the operations the workflow requires.
17. Make the n8n workflow safe to retry. SFTP To Go webhook and automation delivery can be retried, so use event IDs, delivery IDs, execution IDs, or X-Idempotency-Key values to avoid creating duplicate tickets, duplicate records, or repeated external actions.
18. Secure the receiving n8n webhook. Use n8n webhook authentication, IP allowlisting where appropriate, HTTPS, and a production webhook URL. If you use SFTP To Go File Automation webhook signing, verify the X-Hub-Signature header before trusting the payload.
19. Test the complete workflow by uploading, downloading, deleting, or scheduling a test file in SFTP To Go. Confirm that the SFTP To Go event or automation runs, the n8n webhook receives the payload, the FTP or HTTP Request nodes complete as expected, and the target business apps receive the right file metadata or file output.
20. Monitor both sides after publishing. In SFTP To Go, review webhook delivery, automation execution history, retries, and pauses. In n8n, review workflow executions, failed nodes, credentials, webhook activity, and any external app responses.
21. As the workflow matures, keep file governance and file actions in SFTP To Go where they belong, and use n8n for broader workflow coordination across apps, APIs, approvals, alerts, enrichment, and reporting.

You can find further insight into SFTP webhook notifications, SFTP file automations, SFTP management APIs, n8n Webhook node setup, n8n FTP node for SFTP file transfers, and n8n HTTP Request node API workflows.