SFTP Destination

The SFTP destination uploads each processed message as a file to a remote SFTP server. It supports password and private-key authentication and writes to a temporary filename first to prevent downstream systems from reading partially uploaded files.

Configuration

Add an SFTP destination to a channel in intu.yaml:

destinations:
  - name: lab-drop
    type: sftp
    properties:
      host: "sftp.lab.example.com"
      port: 22
      directory: "/inbound/hl7"
      filename_pattern: "${messageId}.hl7"

Properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
host	string	(required)	Hostname or IP address of the SFTP server.
port	integer	22	SSH port number.
directory	string	(required)	Remote directory to upload files into.
filename_pattern	string	${messageId}.dat	Template for the remote filename. Supports the same variables as the File destination.
temp_prefix	string	.tmp_	Prefix added to the filename during upload. Once the transfer completes, the file is renamed to remove the prefix.

Authentication

Password

auth:
  type: password
  username: "${SFTP_USER}"
  password: "${SFTP_PASS}"

Private Key

auth:
  type: private_key
  username: "${SFTP_USER}"
  key_file: "/etc/intu/keys/sftp_id_rsa"
  passphrase: "${SFTP_KEY_PASSPHRASE}"

The passphrase field is optional — omit it if the key is unencrypted.

Tip

Keep the default temp_prefix (.tmp_) so downstream systems can ignore files that are still being written. Most polling-based consumers can be configured to skip files matching a glob like .tmp_*, eliminating the risk of processing a partial upload.

Complete Example

An SFTP destination that uploads HL7 files with private-key authentication:

destinations:
  - name: lis-sftp-drop
    type: sftp
    properties:
      host: "sftp.lab.hospital.org"
      port: 22
      directory: "/inbound/results"
      filename_pattern: "ORU_${date}_${time}_${messageId}.hl7"
      temp_prefix: ".tmp_"
    auth:
      type: private_key
      username: "intu-service"
      key_file: "/etc/intu/keys/lab_sftp_rsa"