As Visual Studio Code continues to dominate the code editor landscape in 2025, developers working with remote servers face an important decision: which SFTP extension should they use? The marketplace offers numerous options, but not all extensions are created equal. Some have been abandoned by their maintainers, while others have evolved into robust, actively maintained solutions.
This comprehensive research report examines the current state of SFTP extensions for VSCode, analyzing marketplace statistics, GitHub activity, and real-world usage patterns. We’ve evaluated installation numbers, community engagement, recent updates, and feature sets to provide you with actionable recommendations for your development workflow.
The Landscape Has Changed
The SFTP extension ecosystem for VSCode has undergone significant transformation over the past few years. What was once a straightforward choice has become more nuanced, with the original popular extension being deprecated and community-maintained forks taking its place. Meanwhile, Microsoft has introduced its own official solution that takes a fundamentally different approach to remote development.
My research reveals that the extension formerly known as the go-to solution, SFTP by liximomo, has been deprecated. The original repository, which accumulated 1,500 stars on GitHub, is no longer maintained. However, the story doesn’t end there. A dedicated developer, Natizyskunk, has forked the project and continues to maintain an updated version that has become the de facto successor.
Remote SSH: Microsoft’s Official Solution
When discussing SFTP and remote file access in VSCode, it would be remiss not to begin with Microsoft’s official Remote SSH extension. This extension represents a paradigm shift in how developers interact with remote systems, and its adoption numbers reflect its significance in the ecosystem.
With over 29 million installations, Remote SSH is by far the most widely used solution for remote development in VSCode. Rather than simply syncing files between local and remote systems, Remote SSH opens an entire remote workspace. When you connect to a remote machine using this extension, VSCode actually runs a server component on that machine, allowing you to use the full feature set of VSCode as if you were working locally.
The extension supports full debugging capabilities, terminal access, and even allows other extensions to run on the remote machine. This means you get IntelliSense, linting, and all other editor features working with your remote files. For professional development environments, particularly those involving containerized applications or cloud-based development machines, this approach offers significant advantages.
The marketplace shows a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars based on 203 reviews. While this might seem modest compared to some alternatives, it’s important to consider that Remote SSH tackles a more complex problem space. The extension is actively maintained by Microsoft, with continuous updates and enterprise-level support.
You can find Remote SSH on the Visual Studio Marketplace at: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh
SFTP by Natizyskunk: The Maintained Fork
For developers who prefer the traditional SFTP workflow of editing files locally and syncing them to a remote server, SFTP by Natizyskunk has emerged as the most viable option in 2025. This extension is a fork of the now-deprecated liximomo SFTP extension, and its maintainer has worked diligently to keep it updated and functional.
The extension currently boasts over 1.2 million installations with a solid 4.0 out of 5 star rating based on 82 user reviews. On GitHub, the repository shows 468 stars and 102 forks, with 206 open issues and 16 pull requests. The last significant commit was made approximately seven months ago in April 2025, indicating that while the project isn’t seeing daily updates, it remains actively maintained.
Natizyskunk has released version 1.16.3 as the latest stable release, representing more than 50 updates and improvements over the original codebase. The maintainer has been transparent about development challenges, noting that personal circumstances have limited their availability over the past year and a half, but emphasizing that this version represents a mature, stable release.
Setting up the extension is straightforward. After installation, you create a configuration file in your workspace by running the SFTP: config command from the command palette. This creates a sftp.json file in your .vscode directory. A basic configuration looks like this:
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{ "name": "Production Server", "host": "example.com", "protocol": "sftp", "port": 22, "username": "deploy", "remotePath": "/var/www/html", "uploadOnSave": true, "ignore": [".vscode", ".git", "node_modules"] } |
One of the extension’s most appreciated features is upload-on-save functionality. When enabled, every time you save a file locally, it automatically uploads to your remote server. This creates a seamless workflow for developers who prefer to work with local files while keeping a remote server in sync.
The extension also supports more advanced configurations, including multiple profiles for different environments. For example, you can configure separate development and production profiles:
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{ "username": "deploy", "password": "secure_password", "remotePath": "/var/www", "profiles": { "dev": { "host": "dev.example.com", "remotePath": "/var/www/dev", "uploadOnSave": true }, "prod": { "host": "prod.example.com", "remotePath": "/var/www/prod", "uploadOnSave": false } }, "defaultProfile": "dev" } |
The extension includes a remote explorer feature that allows you to browse files on your remote server directly from VSCode. You can also select multiple files for batch uploads or downloads, and the extension supports connection hopping through proxy servers for complex network configurations.
For traditional web development workflows where you’re editing PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files and deploying them to a shared hosting environment or VPS, this extension remains the most practical choice. Its GitHub repository can be found at: https://github.com/Natizyskunk/vscode-sftp
SSH FS: Filesystem-Level Integration
Taking a different approach to remote file access is SSH FS by Kelvin Schoofs. This extension has accumulated over 703,000 installations and holds the distinction of having the highest user rating among major SFTP-related extensions, with 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 109 reviews.
The SSH FS extension mounts remote directories as if they were local filesystems using VSCode’s workspace filesystem API. This means that when you open a remote folder through SSH FS, it appears in your workspace just like any local folder would. Other extensions that work with files through VSCode’s official API can interact with these remote files seamlessly.
On GitHub, the repository shows 591 stars with 49 forks and 85 open issues. The project has released 21 versions, with the last commit occurring approximately nine months ago in February 2025. While this represents a longer gap than some users might prefer, the extension remains functional and is considered moderately active.
The extension supports SSH config files, which many developers already use for managing SSH connections. If you have a .ssh/config file with your server configurations, SSH FS can read and use those settings directly. It also provides terminal and task provider functionality, allowing you to run shell commands on the remote server directly from VSCode.
Configuration can be done through VSCode’s settings interface or by editing the settings JSON file:
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{ "sshfs.configs": [ { "name": "My Server", "host": "example.com", "username": "developer", "port": 22, "root": "/home/developer/projects", "privateKeyPath": "~/.ssh/id_rsa" } ] } |
The advantage of SSH FS is that it provides a more native experience. Files don’t need to be explicitly uploaded or downloaded; they’re accessed as if they exist locally. This works particularly well for developers who want to use local debugging tools and extensions that expect files to be in the local workspace.
The extension’s repository is located at: https://github.com/SchoofsKelvin/vscode-sshfs
Deploy Reloaded: The Swiss Army Knife
For developers who need more than basic SFTP functionality, Deploy Reloaded by Marcel Kloubert offers a comprehensive deployment solution. This extension supports not just SFTP, but also FTP, FTPS, local file copying, ZIP file creation, email deployment, script execution, Azure Blob Storage, Amazon S3, and even Dropbox.
Deploy Reloaded takes a different philosophical approach. Rather than focusing on continuous file syncing, it provides structured deployment operations. You define packages of files and target destinations, then execute deployment commands to transfer files according to your specifications.
The extension supports complex workflows like deploying different file sets to different targets, executing SQL queries after deployment, and running custom scripts as part of the deployment process. Here’s an example configuration that demonstrates its capabilities:
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{ "deploy.reloaded": { "packages": [ { "name": "Frontend Build", "files": [ "dist/**/*" ] } ], "targets": [ { "type": "sftp", "name": "Production Server", "host": "prod.example.com", "port": 22, "user": "deploy", "password": "secure_pass", "dir": "/var/www/html", "deployed": [ { "type": "sql", "engine": "mysql", "queries": [ "UPDATE config SET cache_version = cache_version + 1" ] } ] } ] } } |
While Deploy Reloaded may be overkill for simple file syncing needs, it excels in scenarios where you need to coordinate complex deployment operations or support multiple deployment targets. The extension is available on the marketplace at: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=mkloubert.vscode-deploy-reloaded
Extensions to Avoid
My research revealed several extensions that developers should avoid despite their presence in the marketplace. The most notable is the original SFTP extension by liximomo. While this extension once had over 1,500 stars on GitHub and was the de facto standard, it is now officially deprecated. The maintainer has abandoned the project and recommends users switch to Natizyskunk’s fork.
Another extension that should be avoided is FTP-Simple by humy2833. My GitHub analysis shows that this repository has 112 stars but hasn’t seen a commit in over four years, with the last update occurring in 2021. The repository has 250 open issues with no recent maintainer activity. While the extension may still technically function, using unmaintained software for critical development workflows poses security and compatibility risks.
GitHub Activity Analysis
Examining GitHub activity provides crucial insights into the health and sustainability of these extensions. The most active project is naturally Microsoft’s Remote SSH, which benefits from continuous corporate backing and regular updates as part of the broader VSCode remote development initiative.
Among community-maintained extensions, SFTP by Natizyskunk shows reasonable activity with its last commit seven months ago. While not seeing daily updates, this cadence is appropriate for a mature extension that has already implemented core functionality. The 206 open issues might seem concerning, but many represent feature requests rather than critical bugs, and the maintainer has been transparent about their availability.
SSH FS by Kelvin Schoofs demonstrates moderate activity with its last commit nine months ago. The project has released 21 versions over its lifetime, indicating a history of consistent maintenance. With 85 open issues and only 2 open pull requests, the project appears to be in a stable maintenance phase rather than active development.
The stark contrast comes with inactive projects like FTP-Simple, which hasn’t seen updates in four years. This represents a significant risk for users, as VSCode itself continues to evolve, and extensions that aren’t updated eventually break or exhibit compatibility issues.
Use Case Recommendations
Choosing the right extension depends heavily on your specific development workflow and requirements. For developers working in modern cloud-based or containerized environments, Microsoft’s Remote SSH extension represents the best option. Its approach of running VSCode Server on the remote machine provides the most seamless experience, with full debugging support, extension compatibility, and terminal access. This is particularly valuable when working with large codebases where downloading all files locally would be impractical.
Traditional web developers working with PHP, WordPress, or similar server-based applications will find SFTP by Natizyskunk most suitable. The upload-on-save functionality creates an efficient workflow where you edit files locally but see changes reflected immediately on the development server. The multiple profile support makes it easy to maintain separate configurations for development, staging, and production environments.
Developers who want their remote files to feel like local files should consider SSH FS. The filesystem-level integration means you can use all your favorite VSCode extensions without worrying about whether they support remote operations. The files simply appear as if they’re local, and most extensions work without modification.
For teams managing complex deployment pipelines with multiple targets and post-deployment operations, Deploy Reloaded offers the most comprehensive solution. While it has a steeper learning curve than simpler alternatives, its ability to coordinate multi-step deployments with conditional operations and target batching makes it invaluable for sophisticated workflows.
The Verdict for 2025
The SFTP extension landscape for VSCode in 2025 is characterized by mature, stable options rather than rapid innovation. The deprecation of the original liximomo extension initially caused disruption, but Natizyskunk’s fork has successfully filled that gap, providing continuity for users who prefer traditional SFTP workflows.
Microsoft’s Remote SSH extension has fundamentally changed how many developers think about remote development, moving away from file syncing toward remote workspace execution. This approach better aligns with modern development practices, particularly in cloud-native and containerized environments.
For most developers in 2025, the recommendation is straightforward: use Remote SSH for primary development work on remote machines, and keep SFTP by Natizyskunk installed for quick file deployments to production servers or scenarios where the full Remote SSH approach isn’t practical or necessary.
The key takeaway is that the choice is no longer about finding “the one SFTP extension” but rather understanding which tool best fits your specific workflow. The marketplace has matured to offer solutions for different approaches to remote file management, each with its own strengths and ideal use cases.
Marketplace Statistics Summary
To provide a clear overview of the current state of these extensions, here are the verified marketplace statistics as of November 2025:
Remote SSH (Microsoft) leads with 29,996,896 installations and a 3.5-star rating from 203 reviews. The extension is actively maintained with continuous updates.
SFTP (Natizyskunk) has achieved 1,228,238 installations with a 4.0-star rating from 82 reviews. The GitHub repository shows 468 stars, 102 forks, and last activity seven months ago.
SSH FS (Kelvin Schoofs) reports 703,207 installations with the highest rating of 4.5 stars from 109 reviews. The GitHub repository has 591 stars, 49 forks, and last activity nine months ago.
Deploy Reloaded (mkloubert) serves a more specialized audience with estimated installations in the hundreds of thousands. Specific marketplace statistics weren’t available, but the extension maintains active documentation and support.
FTP-Simple (humy2833) should be avoided despite having approximately 100,000 installations. The extension hasn’t been updated in four years and has 250 open issues with no maintainer activity.
Thoughts
The SFTP extension ecosystem for Visual Studio Code has reached a mature state in 2025, with clear leaders in different categories and use cases. While the deprecation of popular extensions has caused some disruption, community-maintained forks have successfully filled the gap, ensuring developers have reliable tools for remote file management.
Personally, I use SSH FS by Kelvin Schoofs for my daily workflow. The extension provides a particularly quick and intuitive way to configure settings, whether through the graphical configuration editor or by leveraging existing SSH config files. This ease of setup, combined with its seamless filesystem integration, makes it an excellent choice for developers who value efficiency and a native file access experience.
Microsoft’s official Remote SSH extension has set a new standard for remote development, though traditional SFTP sync extensions remain valuable for specific workflows. The key to choosing the right extension lies in understanding your development needs and selecting the tool that best matches your workflow rather than simply choosing the most popular option.
As we move forward, the trend appears to be toward more integrated remote development solutions rather than simple file syncing. However, the continued popularity and maintenance of traditional SFTP extensions demonstrates that there’s still significant demand for straightforward file sync functionality. The marketplace successfully accommodates both approaches, giving developers the flexibility to choose the right tool for their specific situation.
