Transfer Triggers

Transfer Triggers enable automatic file transfers based on filesystem events. When files arrive in a monitored directory, MFTPlus automatically transfers them to configured destinations without manual intervention.

What are Transfer Triggers?

Transfer Triggers provide event-driven file transfer capabilities:

Real-time monitoring: Watch directories for new files matching glob patterns
Automatic transfers: Trigger transfers immediately when files arrive
Flexible routing: Use templates to build dynamic destination paths
Debouncing: Wait for file completion before transferring (useful for large uploads)
Security: Path validation and restricted directory access

How Triggers Work

The trigger workflow follows these steps:

Directory watcher: Agent monitors watchPath for filesystem events
Pattern matching: New files are matched against globPattern
Debounce period: Agent waits debounceSeconds for file write completion
OneShot job execution: A transfer job executes with the matched file
Destination routing: File is transferred to the resolved destination path

/data/incoming/file.csv
         ↓
    [Agent Watcher]
         ↓
    *.csv matches
         ↓
    [Debounce 5s]
         ↓
    [OneShot Transfer]
         ↓
sftp://partner/inbox/file.csv

Creating Triggers

Via Dashboard

Navigate to Triggers → Create Trigger
Configure the trigger:
- Name: incoming-csv-triggers
- Watch Path: /data/incoming
- Glob Pattern: *.csv
- Destination: sftp://partner.inbox.com/{{filename}}
- Credentials: Select or create SFTP credentials
Click Save

Via CLI

bash

mftctl trigger create \
  --watch /data/incoming \
  --glob "*.csv" \
  --dest "sftp://partner.inbox.com/{&#8203;{filename}&#8203;}" \
  --debounce 5 \
  --recursive

Configuration Reference

Basic Settings

Setting	Type	Required	Description
`watchPath`	string	Yes	Directory to monitor for new files
`globPattern`	string	Yes	Glob pattern for matching files (e.g., `.csv`, `data-.json`)
`destination`	string	Yes	Destination URL with template support
`credentials`	string	Yes	Named credential set for the destination

Advanced Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`recursive`	boolean	`false	Monitor subdirectories recursively
`debounceSeconds`	integer	`5`	Wait period for file completion (seconds)
`excludePatterns`	array	`[]`	Glob patterns to exclude (e.g., `[".tmp", ".bak"]`)
`enabled`	boolean	`true`	Enable or disable the trigger

Template Language

Destination paths support dynamic variables for flexible routing:

File Variables

Variable	Description	Example
`{{filename}}`	Full filename with extension	`report-2024.csv`
`{{basename}}`	Filename without extension	`report-2024`
`{{extension}}`	File extension including dot	`.csv`
`{{parentdir}}`	Parent directory name	`incoming`

Date/Time Variables

Variable	Description	Example
`{{date()}}`	Current date (YYYY-MM-DD)	`2024-05-17`
`{{time()}}`	Current time (HH-MM-SS)	`14-30-45`
`{{datetime()}}`	Current date and time	`2024-05-17_14-30-45`

Unique Identifiers

Variable	Description	Example
`{{uuid}}`	Random UUID	`a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890`
`{{seq}}`	Sequential number (per trigger)	`1`, `2`, `3`...

Template Transforms

Apply transformations to variables:

Transform	Description	Example
`{{var	upper}}`	Uppercase
`{{var	lower}}`	Lowercase
`{{var	replace:old:new}}`	Replace text

Template Examples

# Keep original filename
sftp://partner.inbox.com/{&#8203;{filename}&#8203;}

# Organize by date
sftp://archive.example.com/{&#8203;{date()}&#8203;}/{&#8203;{filename}&#8203;}

# Add timestamp
sftp://backup.example.com/{&#8203;{basename}&#8203;}_{&#8203;{datetime()}&#8203;}{&#8203;{extension}&#8203;}

# Sequential numbering
sftp://orders.example.com/order-{&#8203;{seq}&#8203;}.csv

# Parent directory routing
sftp://partner.inbox.com/{&#8203;{parentdir}&#8203;}/{&#8203;{filename}&#8203;}

Protocols and Destinations

Transfer Triggers support all MFTPlus protocols:

Protocol	URL Format	Example
SFTP	`sftp://host/path`	`sftp://sftp.example.com/incoming/{{filename}}`
FTP	`ftp://host/path`	`ftp://ftp.example.com/uploads/{{filename}}`
FTPS	`ftps://host/path`	`ftps://secure.example.com/{{filename}}`
Local	`file:///path`	`file:///var/archive/{{filename}}`

Monitoring Trigger History

Via Dashboard

Navigate to Triggers → trigger name
View Recent Executions for:
- Triggered files
- Execution timestamps
- Transfer status
- Error messages (if any)

Via CLI

bash

# List trigger executions
mftctl trigger history incoming-csv-triggers

# View real-time trigger events
mftctl trigger watch incoming-csv-triggers

Security

Path Validation

Restricted directories: Triggers can only watch paths within allowed directories
Path traversal prevention: Templates cannot escape allowed directories
Credential isolation: Each trigger uses isolated credential sets

Allowed Directories

Configure allowed watch directories in agent config:

yaml

agent:
  triggers:
    allowedPaths:
      - /data/incoming
      - /var/uploads
      - /tmp/transfer

Security Note

Triggers cannot watch paths outside the configured allowedPaths. This prevents unauthorized file access.

Credential Management

Credentials are stored securely and never logged
Each trigger references credentials by name
Credential changes apply immediately to all triggers

Troubleshooting

Trigger Not Firing

Verify path is within allowed directories
bash
```
mftctl agent config | grep allowedPaths
```
1
Check file pattern matches
- Verify globPattern matches your filenames
- Test with: ls /data/incoming/*.csv
Confirm trigger is enabled
bash
```
mftctl trigger list
```
1

Files Transferring Too Early

If large files are transferred before completion:

Increase debounce time

yaml

debounceSeconds: 30  # Wait 30 seconds for file completion

Use filename patterns for completion

yaml

excludePatterns:
  - "*.tmp"      # Exclude temporary files
  - "*.upload"   # Exclude in-progress uploads

Transfer Failures

Verify destination connectivity

bash

# Test SFTP connection
sftp partner.inbox.com

Check credentials are valid
bash
```
mftctl credentials test partner-creds
```
1

Review trigger execution logs

bash

mftctl trigger history incoming-csv-triggers --last 10

Permission Denied

Verify agent can read watch directory
bash
```
ls -la /data/incoming
```
1
Verify destination is writable
- Check destination user permissions
- Confirm destination directory exists

High CPU Usage

If monitoring large directory trees:

Disable recursive monitoring
yaml
```
recursive: false
```
1

Use more specific glob patterns

yaml

globPattern: "2024/*.csv"  # Instead of "*.csv"

Add exclude patterns for noise

yaml

excludePatterns:
  - "*.log"
  - "*.tmp"
  - ".*"

Best Practices

Debounce Configuration

File Type	Recommended Debounce
Small files (< 1MB)	2-5 seconds
Medium files (1-100MB)	10-30 seconds
Large files (> 100MB)	60-300 seconds

Pattern Design

Use specific patterns: *.csv instead of *
Combine with date: {{date()}}/{{filename}} for organization
Exclude temporary files: Add *.tmp, *.bak to excludePatterns

Monitoring

Review trigger history weekly: Check for failures or patterns
Set up alerts: Configure notifications for failed transfers
Test regularly: Verify triggers fire with test files

Examples

CSV Ingest Pipeline

bash

mftctl trigger create \
  --name csv-ingest \
  --watch /data/incoming \
  --glob "*.csv" \
  --dest "sftp://data-warehouse.example.com/ingest/{&#8203;{date()}&#8203;}/{&#8203;{filename}&#8203;}" \
  --credentials warehouse-creds \
  --debounce 10

Backup Trigger

bash

mftctl trigger create \
  --name config-backup \
  --watch /etc/app/config \
  --glob "*.yaml" \
  --dest "file:///var/backups/config/{&#8203;{datetime()}&#8203;}/{&#8203;{filename}&#8203;}" \
  --debounce 2

Multi-Destination Routing

Use multiple triggers for different file types:

bash

# CSV files to SFTP
mftctl trigger create csv-sftp --watch /data/incoming --glob "*.csv" \
  --dest "sftp://sftp.example.com/csv/{&#8203;{filename}&#8203;}"

# JSON files to local archive
mftctl trigger create json-archive --watch /data/incoming --glob "*.json" \
  --dest "file:///var/archive/json/{&#8203;{basename}&#8203;}_{&#8203;{datetime()}&#8203;}{&#8203;{extension}&#8203;}"

Next Steps

Installation - Install MFTPlus agents
Quick Start - Create your first transfer job
CLI Commands - Complete mftctl reference

Need Help?

Documentation: docs.mftplus.co.za
Support: support@mftplus.co.za

Transfer Triggers ​

What are Transfer Triggers? ​

How Triggers Work ​

Creating Triggers ​

Via Dashboard ​

Via CLI ​

Configuration Reference ​

Basic Settings ​

Advanced Settings ​

Template Language ​

File Variables ​

Date/Time Variables ​

Unique Identifiers ​

Template Transforms ​

Template Examples ​

Protocols and Destinations ​

Monitoring Trigger History ​

Via Dashboard ​

Via CLI ​

Security ​

Path Validation ​

Allowed Directories ​

Credential Management ​

Troubleshooting ​

Trigger Not Firing ​

Files Transferring Too Early ​

Transfer Failures ​

Permission Denied ​

High CPU Usage ​

Best Practices ​

Debounce Configuration ​

Pattern Design ​

Monitoring ​

Examples ​

CSV Ingest Pipeline ​

Backup Trigger ​

Multi-Destination Routing ​

Next Steps ​

Need Help? ​

Transfer Triggers

What are Transfer Triggers?

How Triggers Work

Creating Triggers

Via Dashboard

Via CLI

Configuration Reference

Basic Settings

Advanced Settings

Template Language

File Variables

Date/Time Variables

Unique Identifiers

Template Transforms

Template Examples

Protocols and Destinations

Monitoring Trigger History

Via Dashboard

Via CLI

Security

Path Validation

Allowed Directories

Credential Management

Troubleshooting

Trigger Not Firing

Files Transferring Too Early

Transfer Failures

Permission Denied

High CPU Usage

Best Practices

Debounce Configuration

Pattern Design

Monitoring

Examples

CSV Ingest Pipeline

Backup Trigger

Multi-Destination Routing

Next Steps

Need Help?