FTPS

FTPS (FTP over TLS/SSL) datasources allow CloudQuant Data Liberator to read CSV, TSV, and other delimited files from FTP servers secured with TLS encryption. This is commonly used with legacy financial data feeds and vendor systems that require explicit FTPS connections.

See Supported Data Formats for every file extension Liberator can ingest over FTPS, including formats added in 2.1 and 2.2.

Connection configuration

Required fields

Field	Type	Description
`connection_type`	string	Must be `"ftps"`
`host`	string	FTP server hostname or IP address
`user`	string	Username for authentication

Optional fields

Field	Type	Default	Description
`port`	int	`21`	FTP control port number
`password`	string		Password for authentication
`key`	string		Client certificate private key (PEM format) for certificate-based authentication
`no_verify`	bool	`false`	Skip TLS certificate verification
`prefix`	string	`""`	Remote directory path to use as root
`mount_point`	string		Local mount path for FUSE-based access
`config_name`	string		Internal configuration identifier

Setting no_verify to true disables TLS certificate validation. This should only be used for testing or when connecting to servers with self-signed certificates on trusted internal networks. Never use this in production with external servers.

You must provide either password or key for authentication. Password authentication is most common for FTPS. Client certificate authentication (key) is used when the server requires mutual TLS.

Example connection

{
  "name": "ftps-vendor-feed",
  "connection_type": "ftps",
  "host": "ftp.securefeed.example.com",
  "port": 21,
  "user": "datafeed",
  "password": "v3nd0rP@ss",
  "prefix": "/outgoing/daily/"
}

Example connection (self-signed certificate)

{
  "name": "ftps-internal-data",
  "connection_type": "ftps",
  "host": "ftp.internal.corp.net",
  "port": 990,
  "user": "etl-service",
  "password": "internalPass123",
  "no_verify": true,
  "prefix": "/data/exports/"
}

Dataset configuration (data_args)

The data_args fields are identical to all file-based sources. See Local File for the full reference. The file_pattern is evaluated relative to the prefix configured on the connection.

Required data_args

Field	Type	Description
`file_pattern`	string	Glob pattern relative to the prefix, e.g., `"*.csv"`
`data_dt_column`	string or list	Column(s) containing the datetime value
`data_dt_format`	string or list	strptime format or special values (`"muts"`, `"uts"`, `"datetime"`)
`data_key_column`	string or list	Symbol/key column(s)

Optional data_args

Field	Type	Default	Description
`sep_override`	string	`","`	Delimiter character
`encoding`	string	`"utf-8"`	File encoding
`data_dt_timezone`	string	`"UTC"`	Source data timezone
`fname_dt_regex`	string		Regex to extract date from filename
`fname_dt_format`	string		strptime format for filename date
`fname_dt_timezone`	string		Timezone of filename date
`fname_dt_nudge`	int	`0`	Microsecond offset for filename date
`fname_dt_approx_seconds`	int		Approximate seconds per file
`arrow_sort`	list	`["symbol", "muts"]`	Sort order
`arrow_timestamp`	bool	`true`	Generate human-readable timestamp column

Complete example

Connection

{
  "name": "ftps-reference-data",
  "connection_type": "ftps",
  "host": "ftps.refdata.example.com",
  "port": 21,
  "user": "cq-download",
  "password": "refDataP@ss",
  "prefix": "/reference/securities/"
}

Dataset

{
  "name": "security-master",
  "connection": "ftps-reference-data",
  "data_args": {
    "file_pattern": "secmaster_*.csv",
    "sep_override": "|",
    "encoding": "utf-8",
    "data_dt_column": "effective_date",
    "data_dt_format": "%Y-%m-%d",
    "data_dt_timezone": "America/New_York",
    "data_key_column": "cusip",
    "fname_dt_regex": "secmaster_(\\d{8})\\.csv",
    "fname_dt_format": "%Y%m%d",
    "fname_dt_timezone": "America/New_York",
    "fname_dt_approx_seconds": 86400,
    "arrow_sort": ["symbol", "muts"],
    "arrow_timestamp": true
  },
  "schema": [
    { "name": "cusip", "type": "string", "group": "key", "description": "CUSIP identifier" },
    { "name": "effective_date", "type": "string", "group": "time", "description": "Effective date" },
    { "name": "ticker", "type": "string", "group": "value", "description": "Ticker symbol" },
    { "name": "company_name", "type": "string", "group": "value", "description": "Company name" },
    { "name": "exchange", "type": "string", "group": "value", "description": "Primary exchange" },
    { "name": "sector", "type": "string", "group": "value", "description": "GICS sector" },
    { "name": "shares_outstanding", "type": "int64", "group": "value", "description": "Shares outstanding" }
  ]
}

FTPS vs SFTP

Feature	FTPS	SFTP
Protocol	FTP + TLS	SSH subsystem
Default port	21 (explicit) or 990 (implicit)	22
Firewall friendliness	Requires data port range	Single port
Common use	Legacy financial feeds	Modern systems
Certificate	TLS/SSL certificates	SSH host keys

If your data vendor supports both FTPS and SFTP, prefer SFTP. It uses a single port, simplifies firewall configuration, and is generally easier to manage.

Network requirements

Requirement	Detail
Outbound port	TCP port 21 (control) + passive data port range to the FTP server
Passive mode	FTP passive mode is required; ensure the passive port range is open
DNS resolution	The hostname must resolve from the CloudQuant Data Liberator host
TLS support	Server must support explicit TLS (AUTH TLS) on port 21, or implicit TLS on port 990

​FTPS

​Connection configuration

​Required fields

​Optional fields

​Example connection

​Example connection (self-signed certificate)

​Dataset configuration (data_args)

​Required data_args

​Optional data_args

​Complete example

​Connection

​Dataset

​FTPS vs SFTP

​Network requirements

FTPS

Connection configuration

Required fields

Optional fields

Example connection

Example connection (self-signed certificate)

Dataset configuration (data_args)

Required data_args

Optional data_args

Complete example

Connection

Dataset

FTPS vs SFTP

Network requirements