This is an old revision of the document!

Configuration Storage

WinSCP can store its configuration both to Windows registry and INI file. When installed, the configuration is stored by default into the registry. Portable versions use by default an INI file (if possible). To switch the storage see Storage tab of Preferences window.

Note that configuration of restrictions and enforcements by administrator, is always stored in Windows registry.

Removing Configuration
Transferring or Backing up the Configuration
Registry Key
INI File Location
Auto-selecting Storage
Checking What Store Is in Use
Portable Configuration
Pre-configuring WinSCP

Removing Configuration

You can clean up all configuration data stored on your machine.

Transferring or Backing up the Configuration

You can export your configuration into an INI file using Export button on Preferences dialog. To import the configuration on another location, copy the INI file into the directory that WinSCP is installed. If you do not have a write permissions to the installation directory, you can point WinSCP to a different location.

After copying the INI file you can change the configuration storage to make WinSCP import the settings from an INI file to the registry.

Registry Key

If you use registry as configuration storage, the configuration is stored under following key.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2]

INI File Location

INI file is located in the directory from which WinSCP was started. The INI file has an .ini extension and the same name as the executable. To use INI file, you need to have write access to the directory.

You may also use an INI file in a different folder or with a different name using /ini switch.

Particularly, when using shared INI file, or if you store the INI file to directory, where WinSCP does not have write access to, you can set read-only attribute to the INI file to prevent WinSCP from overwriting the file or failing, when writing to it.

Auto-selecting Storage

On startup, WinSCP is first looking for an INI file is located in the directory from which WinSCP was started1. If it does not find one, it looks for presence of its key in registry (The key is created by installer, so installed WinSCP uses registry by default). If it does not find that either, it creates an INI file in the default location.

Checking What Store Is in Use

When troubleshooting problems, it is necessary to find whether WinSCP is actually using the configuration storage you intended. For that inspect a beginning of the session log:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
WinSCP Version 5.0.2 (Build 1456) (OS 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3)             
Configuration: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2\         
Local account: INTRANET\martin

Tag Configuration shows either HKEY_CURRENT_USER Windows registry key or a path to an INI file. When Windows registry configuation storage is in use, it is also important under what Windows account is WinSCP running, to know what account the HKEY_CURRENT_USER refers to. For that refer to Local account tag.