FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, it is mainly used to send and receive files on the Internet. It was developed in 1985 and is defined in RFC 959.

FTP is a way of accessing files on another computer. The computer that is connected to is called a server, the computer that connects to the server is called a client. A server listens on the network for connection requests from other computers. The client can make a connection to the FTP server by using FTP client software. Once connected, the client can do things such as uploading files (putting its own files on the server) to the server, downloading files (taking the server’s files and putting them on his own computer) from the server, and renaming or deleting files on the server.

Many computer platforms support FTP. This allows any computer to connected to a TCP/IP based network to manipulate files on another computer on that network regardless of which operating systems are involved (if the computers permit FTP access). There are many existing FTP client and server programs, many of these are available free.

FTP connection is also seen in cellular phones when trying to transfer or receive data from a computer nearby.