FTP 220 Service Ready vs 553 File Name Not Allowed
FTP 220 (Service Ready) is a 2xx Positive Completion response, while 553 (File Name Not Allowed) is a 5xx Permanent Negative response. 220 indicates that service ready for new user. This is the greeting message sent by the FTP server when a client first connects. In contrast, 553 means that requested action not taken. File name not allowed. The file or directory name violates the server's naming rules or filesystem restrictions.
Description
Service ready for new user. This is the greeting message sent by the FTP server when a client first connects.
When You See It
Immediately upon connecting to an FTP server. This is the welcome banner confirming the server is accepting connections.
How to Fix
No fix needed — the server is ready. Proceed with USER and PASS commands to authenticate.
Description
Requested action not taken. File name not allowed. The file or directory name violates the server's naming rules or filesystem restrictions.
When You See It
When you try to create or rename a file with characters the server's filesystem does not allow, such as special characters or reserved names.
How to Fix
Rename the file to use only allowed characters. Avoid special characters like ?, *, |, <, >, and leading/trailing spaces or dots.
Key Differences
220 is a 2xx Positive Completion response, while 553 is a 5xx Permanent Negative response.
FTP 220: Service ready for new user. This is the greeting message sent by the FTP server when a client first connects.
FTP 553: Requested action not taken. File name not allowed. The file or directory name violates the server's naming rules or filesystem restrictions.
You encounter 220 when immediately upon connecting to an FTP server. This is the welcome banner confirming the server is accepting connections.
You encounter 553 when when you try to create or rename a file with characters the server's filesystem does not allow, such as special characters or reserved names.
When to Use Which
For 220 (Service Ready): No fix needed — the server is ready. Proceed with USER and PASS commands to authenticate. For 553 (File Name Not Allowed): Rename the file to use only allowed characters. Avoid special characters like ?, *, |, <, >, and leading/trailing spaces or dots.