What are the best practices for handling sftp connections in PHP scripts?

When handling SFTP connections in PHP scripts, it is important to use a secure method to authenticate and transfer files. One best practice is to use the phpseclib library, which provides a secure way to interact with SFTP servers. By using this library, you can securely connect to an SFTP server, authenticate with a username and password or private key, and transfer files securely.

// Include the phpseclib library
include('Net/SFTP.php');

// Create a new SFTP object
$sftp = new Net_SFTP('sftp.example.com');

// Authenticate with a username and password
if (!$sftp->login('username', 'password')) {
    exit('Login Failed');
}

// Transfer a file to the SFTP server
$sftp->put('remote/path/file.txt', 'local/path/file.txt', NET_SFTP_LOCAL_FILE);