SFTP client for Windows, as a drive letter.
WinSCP and FileZilla put the server in a transfer window; sshfs-win needs a kernel driver and a command line. ExpanDrive gives any SSH server a drive letter that Explorer and every Windows app treat as local storage. Password, OpenSSH key, or Pageant for authentication, so your PuTTY keys keep working. Custom ports, remote path scoping, MFA prompts at connect time, files streamed on demand. Free for personal use, installed from a signed MSI.
Any SSH server, as a drive letter.
Any OpenSSH-compatible server.
A Linux box, a NAS with SSH turned on, a cloud VM, a managed SFTP service, a jump host you already have keys for. If ssh can reach it, ExpanDrive mounts it.
Three ways to authenticate.
Password with an MFA prompt at connect time, an OpenSSH-format key with its passphrase, or Pageant, so the PuTTY keys you already load work for the drive without conversion.
Every Windows app opens the server directly.
Visual Studio, VS Code, Excel, PowerShell, a build script: each one reads and writes files on the server in place. No download, edit, upload-it-back cycle.
A drive letter per connection.
Each server gets the letter you choose and shows up in This PC. Pin folders to Quick Access, search it, use it from the command line as S:\ or whatever you picked.
Built for a Windows fleet, not just a desktop.
The parts that matter once the SFTP drive has to exist on more than one machine.
Signed MSI with silent install.
Push it through Group Policy, Intune, or SCCM with the msiexec flags you already use. Connections can be pre-configured and locked from the Web Management Console so users get the drive without the setup.
Custom ports and remote path scoping.
Port 22 by default, any port you run SSH on otherwise. Scope a connection to a single remote directory so the drive starts where the work is instead of at /.
MFA forwarded through the connection.
If the server uses keyboard-interactive authentication for TOTP, push, or a hardware token, ExpanDrive prompts for the second factor at connect time, the same way ssh does.
Where the usual Windows SFTP options stop short.
Transfer windows, a kernel driver with a command line, and a built-in client with no drive.
- WinSCP and FileZilla are transfer windows. WinSCP's scripting and .NET assembly make it the standard for automated transfers on Windows; neither tool gives Explorer a drive, so every file downloads before an app can open it.
- sshfs-win is a kernel driver plus a command line. WinFsp and an SSHFS port do mount a server as a drive, and they do it for free. Credentials are handled by hand, there is no connection manager, and the syntax lives in a README.
- Windows ships an sftp command, not an SFTP drive. OpenSSH for Windows gives you ssh.exe and sftp.exe in a terminal. Explorer gets nothing.
Other protocol mounts, same Windows app.
One install covers SSH servers, legacy FTP endpoints, WebDAV shares, and object storage.
FTP
Mount any FTP or FTPS server as a network drive on macOS, Windows, and Linux - full TLS support for legacy systems that haven't migrated to SFTP.
WebDAV
Connect to any WebDAV server directly from your desktop - mapped as a network drive with full file access on Mac, Windows, or Linux.
Amazon S3
Connect to Amazon S3 or any S3-compatible storage as a network drive — multi-threaded transfers and full bucket browsing on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
Questions about SFTP on Windows.
Free clients, PuTTY keys, drive letters, sshfs-win, deployment, and where the server side comes from.
Need a File Orchestration Platform, not just a drive?
The cloud connectors mounting your drive on macOS, Windows, and Linux are the same ones that run on Files.com's high-performance cloud File Orchestration Platform — used by 4,000+ businesses including Equifax, Rag & Bone, Cognizant, and Michelin. If you need automations, audit logs, SFTP / AS2 servers, or compliance reporting on top of your file estate, that lives there.
Try it free.
Mount everything.
Free for personal use. Runs on every Mac, PC, and Linux box built in the last decade.