How To Speed Up SFTP Transfers (WinSCP)

Uploading a massive custom modpack or downloading a giant world backup should not take all day. If you are experiencing slow file transfer speeds using WinSCP, it can be pretty frustrating. Luckily, there are two quick settings we can tweak to instantly boost your performance and get those files moving.

Let us dive into your WinSCP preferences and speed things up!

Method 1: Increase Concurrent Transfers

By default, WinSCP only processes a couple of files at the exact same time. If you are uploading a plugin folder with thousands of tiny files, this creates a huge bottleneck. We can increase this limit to allow more simultaneous connections.

1. Open the WinSCP application on your computer.
2. In the top menu bar, click on Options and then select Preferences.
3. In the left-hand menu of the Preferences window, expand the Transfer section and click on Background.
4. Find the setting labeled Maximal number of transfers at the same time.
5. Change this number from the default 2 up to 9.
6. Click OK to save your changes.

Method 2: Disable Connection Buffer Optimization

WinSCP has a feature enabled by default called "Optimize connection buffer size." While this sounds like it should make things faster, it actually restricts performance on many modern, high-speed servers.

1. In WinSCP, click on New Tab (or select your existing MintServers connection in the Site Manager window).
2. If you are editing an existing site, click the Edit button first.
3. Click the Advanced... button located right below your password box.
4. In the Advanced Site Settings window, click on Connection in the left sidebar.
5. Locate and uncheck the box next to Optimize connection buffer size.
6. Click OK, then click Save to update your site profile, and finally hit Login.