CINXE.COM
Portable Use :: WinSCP
<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>Portable Use :: WinSCP</title> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/css/bootstrap-modified.css?v=101" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/js/slick/slick.css?v=101" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/css/styles-all.css?v=101" /> <link rel="schema.DCTERMS" href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" /> <meta name="robots" content="index,follow" /> <meta name="DCTERMS.modified" content="2019-09-25T11:40:51+0000" /> <meta name="generator" content="DokuWiki" /> <link rel="start" href="/eng/docs/" /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://winscp.net/eng/docs/portable" /> <meta name="keywords" content="file manager,sftp client,scp client,ftp client,windows,secure file transfer,ftp,freeware" /> <meta name="description" content="WinSCP is a free file manager for Windows supporting FTP, SFTP, S3 and WebDAV." /> <meta name="google-site-verification" content="R-0cOllfdlHe93mQzthYHV_GUkAImaodzbyD5--pXOQ" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Project News" href="/feed.php" /> <script> if (top.frames.length!=0) { if (window.location.href.replace) top.location.replace(self.location.href); else top.location.href=self.document.href; } </script> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-22775137-1"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'UA-22775137-1'); </script> <script> window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId : '215157521840905', status : true, autoLogAppEvents : true, xfbml : true, version : 'v2.10' }); FB.AppEvents.logPageView(); }; (function(d, s, id){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); </script> <script async defer src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> </head> <body> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="95" height="15" class="hidden"> <symbol id="star" viewBox="0 0 85 15" preserveAspectRatio="xMinYMax meet"> <path d="M4.108 14.63c-.17-.004-.327-.087-.428-.224-.1-.137-.135-.314-.092-.48L4.806 9.23 1.103 6.156C.925 6.01.855 5.77.926 5.547c.07-.22.267-.373.496-.386L6.2 4.888 7.93.36C8.015.143 8.22 0 8.45 0c.228 0 .434.143.516.36L10.7 4.887l4.776.274c.23.014.426.168.496.388s0 .463-.176.61l-3.703 3.07 1.217 4.698c.06.225-.023.463-.21.6-.184.137-.434.144-.626.017l-4.025-2.63-4.026 2.63c-.094.062-.204.092-.316.088z" fill-rule="evenodd"/> </symbol> </svg> <div id="pageDocumentation"> <div class="masthead"> <div class="container"> <nav class="navbar"> <div class="container"> <div class="navbar-header"> <button type="button" class="navbar-toggle collapsed" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#navbar" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="navbar"> <span>Menu</span> </button> <button type="button" class="navbar-toggle collapsed" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#search" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="search"> <svg width="18" height="18" viewBox="0 0 18 18" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><title>Toggle search</title><path d="M12.864 11.32h-.813l-.287-.277c1.01-1.173 1.616-2.697 1.616-4.353C13.38 2.995 10.383 0 6.69 0 2.995 0 0 2.995 0 6.69c0 3.694 2.995 6.69 6.69 6.69 1.656 0 3.18-.608 4.353-1.617l.278.288v.814L16.468 18 18 16.467l-5.136-5.146zm-6.174 0c-2.563 0-4.632-2.068-4.632-4.63 0-2.563 2.07-4.632 4.632-4.632s4.63 2.07 4.63 4.632-2.068 4.63-4.63 4.63z" fill="#FFF" fill-rule="evenodd" opacity="1"/> <image src="/assets/images/search.png" xlink:href="" /><!-- fallback with IE fix --> </svg> </button> <a class="navbar-brand" href="https://winscp.net/"> <img srcset="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/images/logos/logo.png?v=101, https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/images/logos/logo@2x.png?v=101 2x, https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/images/logos/logo@3x.png?v=101 3x" src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/images/logos/logo.png?v=101" width="55" height="54" alt=""> <span class="navbar-brand-text"> <span class="navbar-brand-main"><span>WinSCP</span></span> <span class="navbar-brand-strapline"> <span> Free </span> <span>SFTP, SCP, S3 and FTP client</span> for <span>Windows</span> </span> </span> </a> </div> <div id="navbar" class="navbar-collapse collapse"> <ul class="nav nav-justified"> <li id="navbarHome"><a href="/eng/index.php">Home</a></li> <li id="navbarNews"><a href="/eng/news.php">News</a></li> <li id="navbarIntroduction"><a href="/eng/docs/introduction">Introduction</a></li> <li id="navbarDownload"><a href="/eng/download.php">Download</a></li> <li id="navbarInstall"><a href="/eng/docs/guide_install">Install</a></li> <li id="navbarDocumentation"><a href="/eng/docs/">Documentation</a></li> <li id="navbarForum"><a href="/forum/">Forum</a></li> </ul> <button type="button" class="navbar-toggle hidden-sm-block" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#navbar" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="navbar">Close</button> </div> <div id="search" class="navbar-collapse collapse"> <form action="/search.php" class="navbar-form navbar-right"> <div class="input-group"> <input name="q" type="text" class="form-control" placeholder="Search..." value=""> <span class="input-group-btn"> <button name="sa" class="btn btn-default" type="submit"> <svg width="18" height="18" viewBox="0 0 18 18" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><title>Search</title><path d="M12.864 11.32h-.813l-.287-.277c1.01-1.173 1.616-2.697 1.616-4.353C13.38 2.995 10.383 0 6.69 0 2.995 0 0 2.995 0 6.69c0 3.694 2.995 6.69 6.69 6.69 1.656 0 3.18-.608 4.353-1.617l.278.288v.814L16.468 18 18 16.467l-5.136-5.146zm-6.174 0c-2.563 0-4.632-2.068-4.632-4.63 0-2.563 2.07-4.632 4.632-4.632s4.63 2.07 4.63 4.632-2.068 4.63-4.63 4.63z" fill="#FFF" fill-rule="evenodd" opacity=".5"/> <image src="/assets/images/search.png" xlink:href="" /><!-- fallback with IE fix --> </svg> </button> </span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="refinement" value="Documentation" /> </form> <button type="button" class="navbar-toggle hidden-sm-block" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#search" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="search">Close</button> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <main class="container main-content-container cols-2"> <div class="row"> <section class="col-md-9"> <!-- wikipage start --> <div class="context"><a href="/eng/docs/start" class="context" title="Documentation">Documentation</a> » <a href="/eng/docs/feature_index" class="context" title="Features">Features</a> » </div> <header class="content-editable header-and-meta"> <h1>Portable Use</h1> <div class="secedit"><form class="button" method="post" action="/eng/docs/portable"><input type="hidden" name="do" value="edit" /><input type="hidden" name="rev" value="" /><input type="submit" value="Edit this page" class="button" title="Edit this page (Alt+Shift+E)" accesskey="e" /></form></div> </header> <ul class="list-unstyled toc"> <li><a href="#using_portable_executable">Using Portable Executable</a></li> <li><a href="#full">Full Portability</a></li> </ul> <section id="using_portable_executable" class="upper-divider"> <header class="content-editable header-and-meta"> <h2>Using Portable Executable</h2> <div class="secedit"><form class="button" method="post" action="/eng/docs/portable"><input type="hidden" name="do" value="edit" /><input type="hidden" name="lines" value="2-10" /><input type="submit" value="Edit" class="button" title="Edit" /></form></div> </header> <p> WinSCP can be <a href="https://winscp.net/eng/downloads.php#additional" title="https://winscp.net/eng/downloads.php#additional">downloaded</a> in the form of standalone Portable executables. The <a href="/eng/docs/executables">executables</a> in the Portable executables package are identical to the executables in an Installation package. The difference is that the <a href="/eng/docs/installation">installer</a> pre-configures the executables to override their default portable behavior. </p> <div class="promo-block"> <p class="promo-block-content"> <em>Advertisement</em> <script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;min-height: 90px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1682759925159355" data-ad-slot="5314776528" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </p> </div> <p> Portable executables are intended for advanced users and specific needs. For general use, use <a href="/eng/docs/installation">installer</a>. </p> <p> On startup, the Portable executable looks for an <a href="/eng/docs/config">INI file</a> in the directory from which it was started. The INI file must have an <code>.ini</code> extension and the same name as the executable. If the executable does not find any, it creates one with a default configuration. This allows you to easily carry WinSCP with your <a href="/eng/docs/config">configuration</a> on a removable media or a <abbr title="Universal Serial Bus">USB</abbr> drive. For details, see <a href="/eng/docs/config#auto">auto-selecting configuration storage</a>. </p> <p> You may also use an INI file in a different folder or with a different name using an <a href="/eng/docs/commandline">/ini switch</a>. </p> </section> <section id="full_portability" class="upper-divider"> <header class="content-editable header-and-meta"> <h2 id="full">Full Portability</h2> <div class="secedit"><form class="button" method="post" action="/eng/docs/portable"><input type="hidden" name="do" value="edit" /><input type="hidden" name="lines" value="11-" /><input type="submit" value="Edit" class="button" title="Edit" /></form></div> </header> <p> With default <a href="/eng/docs/config">configuration</a> WinSCP still stores some temporary data on the file system of the host computer. You can configure WinSCP to be completely portable though, i.e. make it store all its files and configuration in one place – for example, a portable USB drive. </p> <p> WinSCP stores by default these files to the host computer: </p> <ul> <li><a href="/eng/docs/ui_pref_storage#other">Random seed file</a> (file <code>winscp.rnd</code> in <code>C:\Users\username</code> folder); </li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/temp_folders">Temporary files</a> (system temporary folder).</li> </ul> <p> You can force WinSCP to store the files into different locations in <a href="/eng/docs/ui_pref_storage">preferences</a>. You can use <a href="/eng/docs/local_path">local paths</a> relative to the WinSCP start folder. </p> <p> To change the storage directly in an INI file, to the same locations where WinSCP is started from, set following parameters: </p> <pre class="ini code"><span class="re104"><span class="br0">[</span>Configuration\Interface<span class="br0">]</span></span> <span class="re105">RandomSeedFile</span>=.\winscp.rnd <span class="re105">DDTemporaryDirectory</span>=.\temp\</pre> <div class="promo-block"> <p class="promo-block-content"> <em>Advertisement</em> <script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;min-height: 90px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1682759925159355" data-ad-slot="9772896285" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </p> </div> </section> <!-- cachefile ./../data/data/.cache/7551c0e41c95b7d63e78a3345027074e used --> <!-- wikipage stop --> </section> <aside class="col-md-3 sidebar"> <section class="donations"> <div class="row"> <h2 class="pull-left">Contribute</h2> <p class="pull-right"> <img src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/images/paypal.svg?v=101" alt="PayPal" style="height: 1.5em; vertical-align: -0.4em; padding-left: 0.1em;"/> </p> </div> <p> <a href="/eng/donate.php" class="btn btn-primary btn-lg">Donate</a> </p> <ul class="list-inline"> <li><a href="/eng/donate.php?amount=19&currency=USD&class=S" title="Donate $19 via PayPal" rel="nofollow">$19</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/donate.php?amount=29&currency=USD&class=S" title="Donate $29 via PayPal" rel="nofollow">$29</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/donate.php?amount=49&currency=USD&class=S" title="Donate $49 via PayPal" rel="nofollow">$49</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/donate.php?amount=99&currency=USD&class=S" title="Donate $99 via PayPal" rel="nofollow">$99</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/donate.php?amount=249&currency=USD&class=S" title="Donate $249 via PayPal" rel="nofollow">$249</a></li> </ul> <p> <img src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/images/card-logo-visa.svg?v=101" alt="Visa" style="height: 1.2em; vertical-align: -0.2em; padding-left: 0.1em;"/> <img src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/images/card-logo-mastercard.svg?v=101" alt="Mastercard" style="height: 1.2em; vertical-align: -0.2em; padding-left: 0.1em;"/> <img src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/images/card-logo-amex.svg?v=101" alt="American Express" style="height: 1.2em; vertical-align: -0.2em; padding-left: 0.1em;"/> <img src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/images/card-logo-unknown.svg?v=101" alt="Other" style="height: 1.2em; vertical-align: -0.2em; padding-left: 0.1em;"/> </p> </section> <section class="user-approved-software"> <h2>User Approved Software</h2> <div class="rating-stars"> <span class="rating-stars-score"> <svg width="95" height="15" class="rating-stars rating-stars-5"> <use xlink:href="#star" fill="#fff" transform="translate(0 0)"/> <use xlink:href="#star" fill="#fff" transform="translate(19 0)"/> <use xlink:href="#star" fill="#fff" transform="translate(38 0)"/> <use xlink:href="#star" fill="#fff" transform="translate(57 0)"/> <use xlink:href="#star" fill="#fff" transform="translate(76 0)"/> </svg> </span> </div> <h3 class="text-left">Total Downloads:</h3> <p class="special-large"> 235,119,666 </p> <h3 class="text-left">Rating:</h3> <p> <span class="special-large">4.8</span> out of <span class="special-large">205</span> reviews </p> <p> <a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/winscp/reviews/" class="ws-icon-arrow soft-link">SourceForge Review</a> </p> </section> <section class="social-widgets"> <h2>Recommend</h2> <ul class="list-inline"> <li class="social-widgets-facebook"> <div class="fb-like" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/winscp/" data-layout="button_count" data-action="like" data-size="small" data-show-faces="false" data-share="true"></div> </li> <li class="social-widgets-twitter"> <a href="https://x.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-count="vertical" data-via="winscpnet">Tweet</a> </li> </ul> </section> <div class="promo-block hidden-sm hidden-xs"> <p class="promo-block-content"> <em>Advertisement</em> <script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;min-height: 90px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1682759925159355" data-ad-slot="2824344559" data-ad-format="rectangle"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </p> </div> <section class="latest-forum-topics-list plain-links-list-widget nav"> <h2>Most Read</h2> <ul class="list-unstyled winscp-list"> <li> <a href="/eng/docs/ui_login">Login Dialog – Configuring Session</a> </li> <li> <a href="/eng/docs/ui_commander">Using Commander Interface</a> </li> <li> <a href="/eng/docs/guide_windows_openssh_server">Installing SFTP/SSH Server on Windows using OpenSSH</a> </li> <li> <a href="/eng/docs/ui_authenticate">Authentication Progress</a> </li> <li> <a href="/eng/docs/guide_automation">Automate file transfers or file synchronization</a> </li> <li> <a href="/eng/docs/guide_connect">Connect to FTP server or SFTP server</a> </li> <li> <a href="/eng/docs/ui_opendir">Bookmark Dialog</a> </li> <li> <a href="/eng/docs/guide_public_key">Set up SSH public key authentication</a> </li> <li> <a href="/eng/docs/guide_amazon_s3">Connecting to Amazon AWS S3 cloud storage</a> </li> </ul> </section> <section class="user-page-meta"> <ul class="list-unstyled winscp-list"> <li> <form class="button" method="post" action="/eng/docs/portable"><input type="hidden" name="do" value="edit" /><input type="hidden" name="rev" value="" /><input type="submit" value="Edit this page" class="btn btn-lg btn-primary small-mb" title="Alt+Shift+E" accesskey="e" /></form> </li> <li> <form class="button" method="get" action="/eng/docs/portable"><input type="hidden" name="do" value="revisions" /><input type="submit" value="Old revisions" class="btn btn-lg btn-secondary" title="Alt+Shift+O" accesskey="o" /></form> </li> </ul> </section> </aside> </div> <footer class="page-last-edited"> <p>Last modified: <time datetime="2019-09-25T11:40:51+0000">2019-09-25</time> by <a href="/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2">martin</a></p> </footer> </main> <div class="footer"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-sm-12 col-md-2 pull-right"> <div id="footerLogin"> <a href="/eng/docs/portable?do=login" class="btn btn-default btn-footer">Login</a> </div> <div id="footerLanguage" class="btn-group dropup"> <button type="button" class="btn btn-default dropdown-toggle btn-footer" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false"> English <span class="caret"></span> </button> <ul class="dropdown-menu"> <li><a href="/chs/">简体中文</a></li> <li><a href="/cht/">正體中文 (繁體)</a></li> <li><a href="/cs/">Česky</a></li> <li><a href="/da/">Danish</a></li> <li><a href="/de/">Deutsch</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/">English</a></li> <li><a href="/es/">Español (Castellano)</a></li> <li><a href="/et/">Eesti keel</a></li> <li><a href="/fr/">Français</a></li> <li><a href="/hr/">Hrvatski</a></li> <li><a href="/hu/">Magyar</a></li> <li><a href="/it/">Italiano</a></li> <li><a href="/jp/">日本語</a></li> <li><a href="/ko/">한국어</a></li> <li><a href="/lt/">Lietuvių</a></li> <li><a href="/nl/">Nederlands</a></li> <li><a href="/pl/">Polski</a></li> <li><a href="/ro/">Română</a></li> <li><a href="/ru/">Русский</a></li> <li><a href="/sk/">Slovensky</a></li> <li><a href="/srl/">Srpski</a></li> <li><a href="/uk/">Українська</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-12 col-md-10"> <div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3"> <h2 class="footer-header">Documentation</h2> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li><a href="/eng/docs/getting_started">Quick Start</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/guides">Guides</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/free_ftp_client_for_windows">FTP Client</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/free_sftp_client_for_windows">SFTP Client</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/free_ssh_client_for_windows">SSH Client</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/free_s3_client_for_windows">S3 Client</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/languages">Languages</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/scripting">Scripting</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/library">.NET and COM Library</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/commandline">Command Line Options</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/portable">Portable Use</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3"> <h2 class="footer-header">Support</h2> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li><a href="/eng/docs/support">Get Support</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/faq">FAQ</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a></li> <li><a href="/forum/">Support Forum</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/docs/history">History</a></li> <li><a href="/tracker/">Bug Tracker</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3"> <h2 class="footer-header">Associations</h2> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li><a href="https://github.com/winscp/winscp">GitHub</a></li> <li><a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/winscp/">SourceForge</a></li> <li><a href="https://teamforge.net/">TeamForge.net</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.dokuwiki.org/">DokuWiki</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.phpbb.com/">phpBB</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3"> <h2 class="footer-header">Follow Us</h2> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li><a rel="me" href="https://www.facebook.com/winscp/">Facebook</a></li> <li><a rel="me" href="https://x.com/winscpnet">X</a></li> <li><a rel="me" href="https://mastodon.social/@winscp">Mastodon</a></li> <li><a rel="me" href="https://bsky.app/profile/winscp.net">Bluesky</a></li> <li><a rel="me" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/winscp/">LinkedIn</a></li> <li><a href="/feed.php">RSS News</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <footer> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <p> © All rights reserved 2000–2025, WinSCP.net </p> <ul class="list-inline"> <li> <a href="/eng/docs/license">WinSCP License</a> </li> <li> <a href="/eng/docs/privacy">WinSCP Privacy Policy</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </footer> </div> </div> <script defer src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/js/jquery.min.js?v=101"></script> <script defer src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/js/bootstrap.min.js?v=101"></script> <script defer src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/js/slick/slick.min.js?v=101"></script> <script defer src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/js/footer.js?v=101"></script> <script defer src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/js/svg-src-polyfill.js?v=101"></script> <script defer src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/js/slick-init.js?v=101"></script> <script defer src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/js/matchMedia.js?v=101"></script> <script defer src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/js/mediaQueryListener.js?v=101"></script> <script defer src="https://winscp-static-746341.c.cdn77.org/assets/js/jquery.toggleSections.js?v=101"></script> </body> </html>