Why I cannot connect/transfer using script, when I can using GUI (or vice versa)?

There are two common reasons for that:

• You run script from a different environment (under a different account/service; with a different configuration) than the GUI. See another F.A.Q.1
• You have your session configured differently in the script and in the GUI.
  • Use a Generate URL command to avoid common mistakes in manually typed URL’s.
    A common problem is special characters in some part of the session URL (typically a password or a username).
  • Try using the GUI site from the script, using an open <site> command to see, to see if it makes the script working. Though do not use this solution for a production code. It’s not recommended to rely on a GUI configuration in the script.
  • Passphrase to an SSH private key is not a password, you need to specify it using -passphrase switch, not in a password part of the session URL.

You can also enable a session logging both in the GUI (on Logging page of Preferences dialog) and the script (using a command-line parameter /log) and compare the logs to find out what is different. Use a command-line parameter /loglevel=* to enable a password logging and check if a correct password is used.

If you decide to seek a help, make sure you provide both complete logs, when describing your issue.

See also:

• More generic article on making WinSCP work in a new environment (operating system, machine, user account, network).
• Debugging transfer task running in Windows Scheduler, SSIS or other automation service.