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How do I connect to the SFTP server for a non Slate AI Processing integration?

Updated over a month ago

Why do I need to configure an SFTP set up?

  • The CollegeVine SFTP provides a secure way to share documents with PII and other sensitive material (e.g., student transcripts and/or applications)

  • The initial export allows CollegeVine to train and test the tool to ensure it best meets your needs

  • Using a separate SFTP from the one used for your AI Recruiter helps direct the relevant data to the correct AI tool

For your first export, remember to…

  • Share 100 transcripts for first year domestic freshmen that have already been recalculated

  • These transcripts should be as representative as possible (e.g., if the majority of your transcripts come from one area, the majority of the sample should come from that same area)

  • Include both PDF transcripts and the CSV key within the ZIP file

    • Name the CSV key index.csv and include two columns:

      • application_id (contains full application ID)

    • filename (contains full file name of the PDF transcript)

Sending Files from Your CRM > CollegeVine

Creating an SSH Key

  1. Create an OpenSSH formatted public/private key pair:

    1. This is used to authenticate and secure the connection from Slate to CollegeVine.

    2. To generate the key pair, follow these instructions:

For Windows

1. Download PuTTyGen or ensure you have the most up-to-date version.

  • Go to this website and click the installation option best suited for your machine.

  • The 64-bit x86 or 32-bit x86 options are most common. For Windows devices, to determine if your system is 32- or 64-bit, go to Start > Settings > System >About. Under Device specifications, you can see the System type (64- or 32-bit.)

2. Download PuTTyGen or ensure you have the most up-to-date version.

  • Go to this website and click the installation option best suited for your machine.

  • The 64-bit x86 or 32-bit x86 options are most common. For Windows devices, to determine if your system is 32- or 64-bit, go to Start > Settings > System >About. Under Device specifications, you can see the System type (64- or 32-bit.)

  • Go to your downloads folder (or the downloads button in your browser) and open the installer you just downloaded.

  • Click ‘Next’ on the next two screens

  • Click ‘Install PuTTY files’ and then ‘Install”

3. After installation is complete, open up the PuTTYgen app (note: don’t open the PuTTY app). You can open up Windows Search or your Taskbar to search for your new PuTTYgen app.

4. An empty PuTTY Key Generator window (screenshot below) will open up. Ensure your parameters are set to the following, which should already be the default settings:

  • Type of key to generate: RSA

  • Number of bits in a generated key: 2048

5. Click ‘Generate’ and then move your mouse around the screen below the green bar.

6. When finished, you will see something similar to the screenshot below:

7. Copy the Public Key listed in the top box. Start highlighting at the “ssh-rsa” line and copy all the way to the end of the key.

  • In the example above, we ultimately copied the whole public key:

    • ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQCn5OR2hChklveWZxfuBlJ7qv18h7kpPOAwrEQDM9Ie0diQoqnDmx9FfOSYUZErMxqnsVg7dLKRFZgmbf1zTuPZMdFdUC1xe4GJR7u2Yr3EUIlqpNJ88ANN7y3qsZTeWaRjOTx/5Usi2ljDstOfJm/azq695FfAWCmDUiqIKUwOQ1SWZzmjtM3CxTPisIU9ybUYhR+5Q5XNZ/ZdiXSbTTsaaqTqV4FnaprCnZ66Uxpx6lcnmQmrwXHbv/OabHP3FxvNkXHV9xPmLii3ablKRVxFjYrPmv+cParyjtKOoVxtfRoV24ZwmBmZZT5h+iUUBQ7rVj0djFiZG7v0exUkZhc7 rsa-key-20241213

    • This public key is just an example, don’t use this public key because it won’t work for you!

8. We recommend that you save the public key file to your computer for future reference by clicking “Save public key” on the PuTTY Key Generator screen:

9. Now it’s time to save the PRIVATE key portion of your key pair.

  • First, ensure you have NOT entered anything into the “Key passphrase” or “Confirm” boxes — these must be empty.

  • Then go to Conversions > Export OpenSSH Key.

10. When prompted with the PuTTYgen warning “Are you sure you want to save this key without a passphrase to protect it?” click Yes.

11. After you enter a file name and pick a location to save the file, click “Save”. Then navigate to the file (via your desktop or your file browser) and open it to view the contents. When prompted, you can open the file with Notepad.

12. When you open the file, you should see your private key. Highlight the whole key to copy it.

For Mac

Overview: This guide explains how to create an ECDSA type public/private key pair locally.

  1. Create a .ssh directory in your home directory if it does not already exist:

    mkdir ~/.ssh

  2. Go to the .ssh folder:

    cd ~/.ssh

  3. Create local ssh key with ssh-keygen:

    ssh-keygen -t ecdsa -b 521 -f <filename>

  4. Copy the public key (~/.ssh/<filename>.pub) contents and send CollegeVine the public key

    cat ~/.ssh/<filename>.pub

    Sample SSH public key (this is just an example, it would not work for you):

    ecdsa-sha2-nistp521 AAAAE2VjZHNhLXNoYTI1Ni1uaXN0cDUyMQAAAAMAAAAlAAAAB3NzaC1lY2RzYS1zaGEyLW5pc3RwNTIxAAAA CG5pc3RwNTIxAAABBBLXZm8kHy1yLueQyRk6sKcyOlHRJJwXJPS2F8FZH2+kKNYYHX6u2TW+rHVXj+ae83W2Lg+yFZhSjKlvwxT7tqU GAAAAswOCjVDgoyIKYejUexST+zj9JcknTSh4J2H7L9qNkK7NSjHVBAAAAAMAAAAlAAAAB3NzaC1lY2RzYS1zaGEyLW5pc3RwNTIxAA AACG5pc3RwNTIxAAABBBLXZm8kHy1yLueQyRk6sKcyOlHRJJwXJPS2F8FZH2+kKNYYHX6u2TW+rHVXj+ae83W2Lg+yFZhSjKlvwxT7t qUGAAAAswOCjVDgoyIKYejUexST+zj9JcknTSh4J2H7L9qNkK7NSjHVBAAAAAtzaW1wbGVAdXNlci5jb20=

  5. Access your private key ~/.ssh/<filename>

    cat ~/.ssh/<filename>

    Sample SSH private key (this is just an example, it would not work for you):

    -----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY----- b3BlbnNzaC1rZXktdjEAAAAABG5vbmUAAAAEbm9uZQAAAAAAAAABAAAAlwAAAAdzc2gtZW NkLXNoYTItbmlzdHA1MjEAAAAIbmlzdHA1MjEAAABBBLXZm8kHy1yLueQyRk6sKcyOlHRJ JwXJPS2F8FZH2+kKNYYHX6u2TW+rHVXj+ae83W2Lg+yFZhSjKlvwxT7tqUGAAAAswOCjVD goyIKYejUexST+zj9JcknTSh4J2H7L9qNkK7NSjHVBAAAAhQDIP6EgOKtVXQSm3jJ1ilok VxZodGmfDkqzGVXNKHC9FQAAAAtzaW1wbGVAdXNlci5jb20BAgMEBQ== -----END OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----

Then:

  1. Provide CollegeVine:

    a. The entire content of the OpenSSH formatted public key. The key should begin with rsa-key....

    b. The IP address for the network or gateway hosting your SSH key (or the IP address range that you will be connecting in if your IP address changes regularly)

  2. Wait for CollegeVine to set up your account.

Once we confirm that your user is set up on our SFTP server, you can begin passing files from your CRM to our server via Filezilla.

Connecting to our SFTP server

  1. Download and open FileZilla

    1. Launch the FileZilla application on your computer.

  2. Open Site Manager

    1. Go to File > Site Manager or use the shortcut Ctrl+S (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+S (Mac).

  3. Create a New Site

    1. Click "New Site" and give it a meaningful name such as "CollegeVine AI Processing"

  4. Configure the Connection Settings

    • Protocol: Select SFTP – SSH File Transfer Protocol

    • Host: Enter the SFTP server’s hostname:

      • sftp.collegevine.com

    • Port: Enter the port number:

      • 22

    • Logon Type: Choose "Key file"

    • User: Enter your SFTP username (provided by CollegeVine)

    • Key file: Click "Browse..." and select your private SSH key file from where is is saved

  5. Connect Click "Connect" to initiate the connection, or "OK" to save it for later.

  6. Trust the Server Key The first time you connect, you'll be prompted to trust the server’s host key.
    Check "Always trust this host, add this key to the cache" and click OK.

Uploading Files to the Server

  1. Query your transcripts from your CRM - you will need to send over two files in a zipped folder

    1. File Type:

      • PDF Transcripts: Each transcript should be a single PDF file with a .pdf extension. The PDF should not combine multiple transcripts for different students, nor should a single transcript be split across multiple PDF files.

    1. CSV Key:

      • index.csv file: This CSV file maps the PDF file names to application IDs. The file must contain two columns:

        • application_ID: This column contains the full application ID.

        • filename: This column contains the full file name of the PDF transcript

  2. Navigate to the Remote Directory in FileZilla
    In the right pane, browse to the folder where you want to upload files on the remote server.

  3. Select Files on Your Computer
    In the left pane, find and select the files you want to upload.

  4. Upload Your Files

    • Right-click > Upload, or

    • Drag and drop the files from the left pane (local) to the right pane (remote)

Getting files from CollegeVine > Your CRM

  1. Wait for CollegeVine to alert you that the file has been sent back

  2. Connect to the Server
    Open FileZilla and connect to your saved SFTP site using the Site Manager (File > Site Manager or Ctrl+S / Cmd+S).

  1. Find the File on the Server
    In the right-hand pane (remote server), browse to the folder where the file is located.

  2. Choose the Destination on Your Computer
    In the left-hand pane (your local computer), navigate to the folder where you want to save the file.

  3. Download the File

    • Drag and drop the file from the right pane (remote) to the left pane (local),
      ​or

    • Right-click the file in the right pane and choose "Download"

Related Articles
How do I integrate my AI Recruiter with Slate?
How do I integrate my AI Recruiter with my (non-Slate) CRM via SFTP?
How do I generate an SSH key pair on Windows for the AI Recruiter?
How do I configure Slate to integrate with CollegeVine's AI Processing?
How to integrate your AI Recruiter with Salesforce CRM via Informatica
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