sftp: pin host key automatically

[vortexilation]

I am getting the following when connecting into sftp :

NewFs: couldn't connect SSH: ssh: handshake failed: knownhosts: key is unknown

There is option in rclone "--sftp-pin-host-key" for automatically pinning the host key.

Or even better skip known_hosts file "--sftp-known-hosts-file none".

[towfiqi]

Are you setting the known_host path in the "Known Hosts File" field from the SFTP storage setup screen? If you are, try clearing it.

[vortexilation]

I cannot connect without using known_hosts file, I think you need to disable it completely in code :

No host key validation is being performed. Set known_hosts_file to enable it. See: https://rclone.org/sftp/#host-key-validation

[vortexilation]

my known_hosts file content :

hostname ssh-ed25519 fingerprint

[towfiqi]

When you were using the "Known Hosts File" field to set the file path, were you using an absolute path? It needs to be an absolute path.

[vortexilation]

It's fixed path, yes

[vortexilation]

The error that I have got after putting the right known_hosts file :

NewFs: couldn't connect SSH: ssh: handshake failed: knownhosts: key is unknown

[towfiqi]

try setting the "Known Hosts File" field to none and see if that resolves the issue

[vortexilation]

Cannot continue :

couldn't parse known_hosts_file: open none: The system cannot find the file specified.

[towfiqi]

After investigating rclone behavior further, it looks like when the "Known Hosts File" field is empty, rclone already skips the known_hosts file check. So the message you received is actually a warning: No host key validation is being performed. Set known_hosts_file to enable it. See: https://rclone.org/sftp/#host-key-validation. But the thing is, the warning message is only thrown by a newer version of rclone, which Pluton does not bundle with. Did you replace the rclone binary that Pluton bundles with a newer one?

[vortexilation]

No, I only using your bundled one from the latest version 0.18.3.

The only differences is I am only private ssh key with passphrase set up.

[towfiqi]

ok, Pluton is probably not printing out the whole error and cutting it off. We need to view the full message to diagnose this.
We need to run the rclone SFTP storage creation command directly and see what error it throws. What is your operating system?

[vortexilation]

Windows 11 x86_64 26H1

[towfiqi]

Did you use the Windows installer, or are you using Pluton via Docker?

[vortexilation]

Windows Installer

[towfiqi]

Copy this command to a text file, and then replace the SFTP values in the first 4 lines. Then paste the updated command in a PowerShell window:

$sftpHost = 'sftp.example.com'
$sftpPort = '22'
$sftpUser = 'bob'
$sftpPass = 'the-real-password'
$rclone   = "C:\Program Files\Pluton\binaries\win32-x64\rclone.exe"

$env:RCLONE_CONFIG = "$env:TEMP\probe.conf"
& $rclone config create probe sftp host $sftpHost port $sftpPort user $sftpUser pass $sftpPass --obscure --non-interactive
& $rclone lsd probe: -vv

Share the output here.