How to establish SFTP connection with Transmit on MAC OS?

To establish an SFTP connection with Transmit 5 on your MAC OS you should:

• Create a folder your computer called keys and then open Terminal from Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
• In Terminal navigate to the folder where you want to create the key, for example:

cd Desktop/keys

• Then execute the following command:

ssh-keygen -t rsa

• Provide file name (example: keys101), do NOT put in a password and press enter on password fields. Adding a password during the creation of the key pair will result in failure to load the key in the terminal.
• Open the keys folder with Finder and you will see two keys – keys101 and keys101.pub. Right-click on “keys101.pub” and choose Open With > Other. Choose TextEdit then click Open. Then highlight all the contents of the file, right-click and click on “Copy“.
• You now need to import the Public key you have created to your hosting account

If you are going to use it for a single website SFTP access, go to Site Tools of your hosting account and go to Devs > SSH Keys Manager. Click on “Import”. Right-click in the Public Key box, paste the public key and choose “Import”.

If you are going to use it for a multiple website SFTP access, go to Multiple SFTP access in your Client Area, where you will be able to import the key.

• Open Transmit 5, click on SFTP, then click on the “+” button in the lower left. This will open the Settings page where you must provide your hosting account information. Do not provide a password. “Server” needs to be the hostname of your server, “User Name” is available in your Site Tools > Devs > SSH Keys Manager, under Manage SSH Keys, go to the kebab menu > SSH Credentials, “Port” is 18765, and “Remote Path” is public_html.
• Click on the Key icon in the “Password” section. This will open a pop-up with the Keys available. Click on “Edit“, which will open the keys settings. Afterward, click on the “+” sign, then use the “Import keys” option. This will open Finder and you should navigate to the folder you put the keys in the first step. Select keys101 (not keys101.pub).
• Next, close the “Key” settings window and click again on the Key icon under the Server settings. Select the previously imported key and click “Add to servers“.
• Now the connection should be listed in the Servers section in Transmit. Double-click on the connection in Servers to open SFTP connection to the server.

• Click on the Key icon in the “Password” section. This will open Finder and you should navigate to the folder you put the keys in the first step. Select on keys101 (not keys101.pub) and click Choose Key File.
• You should be returned to the Settings page, just click Save. Now the connection should be listed in the Favourites section in Transmit.
• Double-click on the connection in Favourites to open SFTP connection to the server.