Pausing a transfer in FileZilla

To pause an active transfer, right-click on the file in the transfer queue at the bottom of the FileZilla window and select Pause from the menu. The file will stop uploading or downloading immediately, and its status will change to "Paused". You can also select the file and press the spacebar as a keyboard shortcut, or click the pause button in the toolbar if it's visible in your layout.

FileZilla keeps the partial file on your computer (for downloads) or on the server (for uploads) so you can resume from where you left off. The transfer queue remembers your paused files even if you close and reopen FileZilla, as long as you don't manually delete them from the queue.

Pausing is useful when you need bandwidth for something else, when a connection is unstable and you want to wait for it to stabilize, or when you're transferring a large file and want to check on it later. Unlike canceling, pausing preserves your progress.

Key Takeaways

  • Right-click a file in the transfer queue and select Pause to stop it without losing progress.
  • Paused files remain in the queue and can be resumed by right-clicking and selecting Resume, or by pressing the spacebar.
  • FileZilla saves your paused transfers between sessions, so you can close the program and pick up later where you stopped.
  • Pausing is different from canceling — a paused transfer keeps the partial file, while canceling deletes it.

Resuming a paused transfer

To resume a paused transfer, right-click the file in the queue and select Resume. FileZilla will reconnect to the server and continue from the byte where it stopped. If you're downloading, the file on your computer will grow from its current size. If you're uploading, the server will receive the rest of the file.

You can also select a paused file and press the spacebar to toggle it back to active. If multiple files are paused, you can resume them all at once by selecting them together (Ctrl+click or Shift+click) and then pressing spacebar or right-clicking to resume.

When a paused transfer won't resume

If you try to resume and FileZilla shows an error, the most common cause is that the server no longer recognizes the partial file. This happens when the server's temporary storage has been cleaned up, usually after several hours or days of inactivity. When this occurs, FileZilla will ask whether you want to overwrite the existing partial file or start fresh — choose overwrite to resume from where the server allows.

Another reason a transfer might not resume is if your connection to the server has been lost and FileZilla cannot reconnect. Check that you're still logged into the server (the server name should appear in the left panel with a green checkmark). If you're disconnected, reconnect first, then try resuming.

If the partial file on your computer or the server has been deleted, you'll need to cancel the transfer and start over. FileZilla cannot resume a transfer if there's nothing to resume from.

Clearing paused transfers from the queue

To remove a paused file from the queue without resuming it, right-click it and select Delete. This removes the transfer record from FileZilla but does not delete the partial file itself from your computer or the server — you'll need to delete that manually if you want to clean up the space.

If you want to clear all paused transfers at once, go to the Transfer menu and look for an option to clear the queue or remove failed transfers. The exact wording depends on your FileZilla version, but the result is the same: the queue empties and you start fresh.

Pausing vs. canceling: what's the difference

A paused transfer stops but keeps the partial file and remembers where it stopped. You can resume it later and pick up from that exact point. A canceled transfer stops and deletes the partial file from your computer or the server, so if you want to transfer it again, you start from zero.

Use pause when you think you'll resume the same transfer. Use cancel when you've changed your mind about the file or when a transfer has failed repeatedly and you want to remove it from the queue and start over. Pausing is also safer for large files over slow connections — if your internet drops, you won't lose all your progress.

Transfer queue settings and limits

FileZilla allows you to set how many files transfer at the same time. Go to Edit > Settings (or FileZilla > Preferences on Mac), then navigate to Transfers. Look for the option labeled "Simultaneous transfers" or "Number of simultaneous transfers" and set it to the number you want — usually 1 to 4 is reasonable for most connections.

If you have many files in the queue and want to pause all but a few, you don't have to pause them one by one. Select multiple files using Ctrl+click, then right-click and choose Pause. All selected files will pause at once. The same works for resuming.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will FileZilla resume my transfer if I close the program?

Yes. FileZilla saves the state of all paused transfers, including which files are paused and how much of each has been transferred. When you reopen FileZilla and reconnect to the server, your paused files will still be in the queue and you can resume them. However, if the server has deleted the partial file during the time FileZilla was closed, you may need to restart the transfer.

What happens if my internet cuts out during a paused transfer?

Nothing — a paused transfer is already stopped, so an internet outage won't affect it. When you're ready to resume, FileZilla will reconnect to the server and continue. If you were in the middle of an active transfer when the connection dropped, FileZilla will pause it automatically and you can resume once you're back online.

Can I pause a transfer on one computer and resume it on another?

No. Paused transfers are stored in FileZilla's local queue on that specific computer. If you move to a different machine, FileZilla won't know about the paused file. You can manually resume the transfer on the new computer by adding the file to a new queue, but FileZilla won't know where the old transfer stopped.

Is there a keyboard shortcut to pause all transfers at once?

FileZilla does not have a built-in shortcut to pause all transfers simultaneously. You can select all files in the queue using Ctrl+A, then press spacebar to pause them all together, or right-click and choose Pause. This is faster than pausing them individually.