How do I configure user uploads via the SFTP?

Learn how to use Grow's SFTP feature to automate one-off and repeating user uploads!

This article is primarily directed at System Admins who are responsible for user management.

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What's included in this article: 

• Getting Started
• Before Visiting the SFTP Configuration page
• Connecting to the SFTP Server
• Creating Your File
• Configuring Your Upload
• Wrapping Up

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Getting Started

• To get started, contact your Customer Success Manager or our Technical Support Team via the Support & Feedback button on the bottom left of your Grow screen. Ask them to enable the SFTP feature for your district.
• Before testing on your live site, we strongly recommend doing a test run on your QA environment first. Ask your Customer Success Manager if you have not accessed your QA environment before and they will set you up there. All instructions will be the same for your QA environment as your Prod environment except where noted in this guide.
• Once that's done, you'll see a new menu item called SFTP Configuration under your name. 

Before Visiting the SFTP Configuration page

Step 1: Create your schools

• School Name Consistency - Be intentional when creating your school name! The school name within Grow needs to match exactly the school name in the SFTP import. If the school name does not match, the user will not be imported.

For example: "Minty Middle School" and "Minty Middle" may refer to the same school, but only users with the exact match to the name within Grow will be imported. 

🛑 Later on, check that school names in Column E of the upload file match school names within Grow

Step 2: Review any user metadata that you are planning to utilize in Grow

• For districts that are currently using Grow, or expanding, it's best to review current metadata to ensure metadata is consistent on your upload file and on the platform before connecting to the SFTP Server.

Step 3: Prepare your data for upload

There are two main methods for uploading this data: 

1. Users can make manual updates to the user upload template before the file is dropped onto the SFTP Portal and imported into Grow.
2. Users can work with their data teams to mass upload a file. For example: Some districts pull
   data from an HR system to update everything in the Grow system.

Note 1: Sub Admin and System Admin do not need to have a school listed in the upload process, as they will automatically have access to all schools.

Note 2: When updating information, it is helpful to include internal IDs in the user upload rather than just relying on matching emails. If an email changes, then a user's profile is archived. Including internal IDs can help mitigate challenges down the road!

Connecting to the SFTP Server

• The first time you (or another admin at your district) navigate to that page, you'll see a popup asking if you'd like to create a new SFTP user. Click Yes on this.

• The next screen you'll see will display your SFTP password. You should download and save this information. You'll be able to regenerate the password if you forget it, but it will require redoing your connection to the server.
  • Your password will be different between your QA testing environment and your Prod environment. Be sure to save and differentiate between both.
• Your SFTP username will be the unique key for your district - you'll see it on the left panel on the main page after the password step.

• Once you have your username and password, you can get connected to the SFTP server. You can use your FTP client of choice (Cyberduck, FileZilla, etc). The screenshots below utilize Cyberduck.
• To get started, open your FTP client and create a new connection.
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    • Select SFTP as the connection type. 
  • In the URL field, input one of these two depending on if you're doing your test run (the first one) or your real connection (the second):

    • grow-sftp-connect.qa.schoolmint.com

    • grow-sftp-connect.schoolmint.com

  • Set the Port to 22.
  • Enter the Username and Password you received in the previous step.
  • Your connection should look something like this:

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  • If you're prompted to accept a fingerprint, click Yes.
• This will be the server you connect to each time you add a CSV file, whether you're uploading on a one-off basis or automating an upload from a different system. 
  • You can maintain both the QA connection and the Prod connection if you ever need to test out additional file changes or the like. Just be sure to double check that you're in the right one.

Creating Your File

• The file you'll drop on the SFTP server will be the same format as the file you'd use for a regular User Upload. 
  • Your file must be in the CSV format. 
  • Reference this article for instructions for the User Upload process and filling out the file. You'll find a link to a sample user upload file in that article, as well as here.
    • There are additional fields available beyond what's listed in the article. Any field that you can upload via the regular User Upload can be added via the SFTP. If you have questions about what's possible or need help, contact your Customer Success Manager or Customer Care.
• Please note one key difference between the standard User Upload and the SFTP version: the standard User Upload is additive, meaning it will add additional roles and users without touching anyone who is not in a particular upload. The SFTP option refreshes all users at your district each time, so every active user must be in every file you send.
• Once your file is ready, you can drop it directly on the SFTP server. This can be done either as a one-off or as an automated process from your data source. This is up to you and can be configured in the next step.

Configuring Your Upload

• After doing the previous steps, you'll be able to return to the SFTP Configuration page as needed to set up and update your SFTP configuration.
• The panel on the left will allow you to view your username, regenerate a password if needed (remember that you'll need to reestablish the connection to the SFTP server if you do so), and configure more advanced options such as encryption if they are required by your district. We recommend connecting with your Customer Success Manager or Customer Care first if you intend to use any non-default connection options.
• The panel on the right will be where you set your upload preferences. See a breakdown of fields below:

Is Automated Job Enabled?	This toggle determines whether Grow will look for a file on your SFTP server at regular intervals. You can still use the SFTP file drop process to send one-off files (using the Sync Now button at the top right).
Sync Frequency	This determines how frequently you intend to drop files to be processed. One Time will allow you to sync files on a one-off basis; the other options are Daily, Weekly, and Monthly.
Start Date	If you are configuring a sync that will start sometime in the future, you can set a future date here. Otherwise, leave it at the current date.
File Format Type	You have two options for the file name, which is required to be a CSV. Always Latest File will look for the file that was most recently dropped on the SFTP no matter the name. Specific File Name will look for a particular file name each time. The latest file option is recommended unless you intend to have an automated process in place to replace the file each day.
Matching Key	This will determine which key will be used for matching users to existing accounts. If a match is not found, a new user will be created. Your matching options are Email, Internal ID, Accounting ID, Clever ID, or Grow ID.
Coaching Group Type	There are two options here: creating individual groups for users listed as coaches or adding them all to the Teachers group at your school. You can select either one or both.
Error Percentage Threshold	Setting a value here will stop the upload if the number of users with errors is above the threshold percentage. You can disable this feature by leaving the value at -1.
Automatically Email New Users That Are Created Via This Process	Toggling this ON will send a welcome email to all newly created users. Existing users who are updated will not be notified.
Notify On Success	In this section, you can add email addresses that will receive an email when the upload is complete. Any emails added here will always be notified upon failure, but toggling this ON will also send an email when the upload is successful.

Wrapping Up

• After you've configured your upload preferences, connected to the SFTP server, and created the process for running your files, everything will run automatically based on what you've set up. 
• At the bottom of the SFTP Configuration page, you'll see a Sync History table that will allow you to see the results of the ten most recent runs.
• Remember, the SFTP option refreshes all users at your district every time it runs, so every active user must be in every file you send.