There are a few changes you have to make to the vsftpd configuration file before you can start using FTP on Ubuntu 18.04.

Before editing the config file, create a backup.

sudo cp /etc/vsftpd.conf /etc/vsftpd.conf.bak

Now, open the config file in nano editor.

sudo nano /etc/vsftpd.conf

Look for #write_enable=YES and uncomment it by removing the # sign. This will allow FTP users to write files to the server.

write_enable=YES

Look for #chroot_local_user=YES and uncomment it by removing the # sign. This will prevent FTP users from browsing outside their own directory.

chroot_local_user=YES

Look for #local_umask=022 and uncomment it by removing the # sign. This will give uploaded files and folders the correct permissions.

local_umask=022

Since Linux doesn’t show files beginning with a dot, files like .htaccess will not be visible in FTP. This may be a problem if you intend to use Apache and want to work with .htaccess.

To force vsftpd to show file names that begin with a dot, paste the following to the bottom of the file.

force_dot_files=YES

Lastly, let’s add some port ranges for passive FTP to make sure enough connections are available.

pasv_min_port=40000
pasv_max_port=50000

To save file and exit, press CTRL + X, press Y and then press ENTER.

Restart vsftpd.

sudo systemctl restart vsftpd