Transfers

Transfers are Desk resources you attach to reports to deliver export files automatically when a report runs.

Supported destinations:

Email
SFTP
Google Cloud Storage (GCS)
AWS S3

Each transfer type has its own configuration fields. The destination type cannot be changed after the transfer is created — create a new transfer if you need a different channel.

Manage transfers

Open the transfers list from Settings → Transfers:

📍 https://desk.collectiveaudience.co/settings/transfers

Create a transfer

You can create a transfer in two ways:

Click New on the transfers list.

Add a transfer directly from a report editor (Recipients / Transfer section).

Give each transfer a clear name so you can reuse it across reports later.

Use transfers in reports

In the report editor, you can attach as many transfers as you need to a single report. Each transfer runs when the report is generated (manually or on schedule).

➡️ See Report creation for the full report workflow, including password-protected exports.

Test your configuration

After saving a transfer, use Test the settings in the transfer editor to verify connectivity and credentials before relying on it in production reports.

What recipients receive

Delivery method	What is sent
SFTP, S3, GCS - Not secured report	A raw `.csv`, `.xlsx`, or `.json`
SFTP, S3, GCS - Secured report	A `.zip` file is secured report is requested (not a raw `.csv`, `.xlsx`, or `.json`)
Email - Link	An email with a download link to the ZIP file
Email - Attachment	The ZIP attached to the email

If the report has Password-protect export enabled, the ZIP is password-protected. Share the password with recipients through a separate channel when possible.

Transfer types and parameters

Email

Parameter	Description
Result format	Link - download link in the email. Attachment - ZIP file attached to the email.
To	Main recipient email addresses (one or more).
CC	Optional copy addresses.

SFTP

Parameter	Description
Host	SFTP server hostname. Do not include the protocol prefix (`sftp://`).
Port	Optional. Defaults to the standard SFTP port if left empty (e.g. `22`).
Path	Optional remote directory path.
User	SFTP username.
Login mode	Password or Private key.
Password	Required when login mode is Password (on create).
Private key	Required when login mode is Private key (on create).

When editing an existing transfer, leave the password or private key field empty to keep the current secret unchanged.

Supported key algorithms (private key authentication):

ecdsa-sha2-nistp256
ecdsa-sha2-nistp384
ecdsa-sha2-nistp521
rsa-sha2-256
rsa-sha2-512

Google Cloud Storage (GCS)

Parameter	Description
Credentials key	Service account JSON key. Stored encrypted; never shown again in clear text after save. Leave empty on edit to keep the existing key.
Bucket name	Target GCS bucket.
Path name	Optional object path prefix. Supports name macros (see below).

AWS S3

Parameter	Description
Bucket name	Target S3 bucket.
Path name	Optional object key prefix. Supports name macros (see below).
Access key	AWS access key ID.
Secret key	AWS secret access key. Stored encrypted; leave empty on edit to keep the existing secret.
Region	AWS region for the bucket (e.g. `eu-west-1`).

Name templating

For GCS and S3 path names (and anywhere the Desk shows the macro helper), you can use placeholders in the path:

Macro	Replaced with
`[USERNAME]`	Current account username
`[DATE]`	Export run date (`YYYY-MM-DD`)
`[DATETIME]`	Export run date and time (`YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM-SS`)

Example path: exports/[USERNAME]/[DATE]/ → exports/jane.doe/2026-06-23/

Security

Passwords, private keys, GCS credentials, and S3 secret keys are stored encrypted in Collective Audience's database. They are never displayed again in clear text in the Desk after they are saved.