Protocol "sftp" not supported or disabled in libcurl

[camslice 1]

Since upgrading macOS to High Sierra, I am no longer able to share using an SFTP account.

[Yevhen L. 0]

The same error!!!

curl -V:

root > /usr/local/bin curl -V
curl 7.59.0 (x86_64-apple-darwin17.4.0) libcurl/7.59.0 OpenSSL/1.0.2o zlib/1.2.11 libssh2/1.8.0
Release-Date: 2018-03-14
Protocols: dict file ftp ftps gopher http https imap imaps ldap ldaps pop3 pop3s rtsp scp sftp smb smbs smtp smtps telnet tftp
Features: AsynchDNS IPv6 Largefile NTLM NTLM_WB SSL libz TLS-SRP UnixSockets HTTPS-proxy

 

[Yevhen L. 0]

Quote

Rolling back Skitch to 2.8 manually (https://evernote.s3.amazonaws.com/skitch/mac/release/Skitch-2.8.zip) allowed me to fix this issue.

it helped me!

[camslice 1]

indeed it has!

here's proof: http://skitch.madebycam.com/Protocol__sftp__not_supported_or_disabled_in_libcurl_20755400.png

thanks Yevhen 

[Jason Woodward 0]

I was also able to get SFTP working again by manually downgrading to 2.8 as described above.  Thanks for that tip.  However, then macOS complained about having an old version, and constantly wanted me to upgrade, which is annoying.  So, I dug in to why 2.9 wouldn't work with SFTP. 

Warning: technical details ahead!  This won't be a slam dunk if you're not comfortable on the command line, or if you don't want to install homebrew.

macOS 10.14.6 ships with version 7.54.0 of curl / libcurl, which you can see by running curl -V in Terminal:

$ curl -V
curl 7.54.0 (x86_64-apple-darwin18.0) libcurl/7.54.0 LibreSSL/2.6.5 zlib/1.2.11 nghttp2/1.24.1
Protocols: dict file ftp ftps gopher http https imap imaps ldap ldaps pop3 pop3s rtsp smb smbs smtp smtps telnet tftp
Features: AsynchDNS IPv6 Largefile GSS-API Kerberos SPNEGO NTLM NTLM_WB SSL libz HTTP2 UnixSockets HTTPS-proxy

You can also see that the version it ships with does NOT include the sftp protocol (it would have been included on the Protocols line above).

Does Skitch embed libcurl, or does it use the macOS provided version?  We can check, and it turns out it "links" against the macOS shipped version, and does not include its own version.  This is good, because maybe we can get it to use a version that includes sftp!

$ otool -L /Applications/Skitch.app/Contents/MacOS/Skitch | grep -i curl
    /usr/lib/libcurl.4.dylib (compatibility version 7.0.0, current version 9.0.0)

What happens if we install our own version of curl/libcurl, and tell Skitch to use that instead of the macOS provided version?  Will it work?  Turns out yes, it does, for me.

First, install an alternate version of curl using homebrew (google it), or some other method, and find the directory where your new library is installed, like for instance as follows.  Version numbers will almost certainly differ for you.

$ brew install curl
$ ls /usr/local/Cellar/curl/7.73.0/lib
libcurl.4.dylib    libcurl.a    libcurl.dylib    pkgconfig

Second, quit Skitch completely, including the part that runs in the menu bar.  Then, start Skitch on the command line:

$ DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/Cellar/curl/7.73.0/lib /Applications/Skitch.app/Contents/MacOS/Skitch &

If the version of curl you just installed includes sftp, then it should work.  At least it did for me.  And should, as long as the interface to libcurl doesn't change between what it expects in 7.54.0, and what it gets with the version you install (in my case, 7.73.0).  This will likely be the case for a while, but not indefinitely.

Downside: you always need to start it from the command line with that DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH bit before it.  Remove it from your Login Items because as long as you don't start it with that PATH in there, it'll get the version of libcurl, without sftp, that comes with macOS.  Yeah, that sucks.  It's worth the hassle for me and my workflow.  Maybe not for you.

Finally, the bold among you may try to make that DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH change system wide, or overwrite the version of libcurl that exists in /usr/lib.  I'm not that adventerous.

[camslice 1]

Nice investigations there Jason.  I went a little further down the rabbit hole and created an apple script using Script Editor, then exported it to SkitchSFTP.app, so now I can add it to my login items.

do shell script "DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/Cellar/curl/7.77.0/lib /Applications/Skitch.app/Contents/MacOS/Skitch > /dev/null 2>&1 &"
tell application "System Events"
	repeat
		if exists (window 1 of process "Skitch") then exit repeat
		delay 0.1
	end repeat
	activate application "Skitch"
	keystroke "w" using command down
end tell

This fires up Sketch using our magical DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH value set, loops until it detects that the window is open, then closes it. You'll need to allow SkitchSFTP.app access to "Accessibility" the first time it runs.

HOWEVER as soon as you quit Sketch and use the Sketch Helper to launch it again, it loses the DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable value.  So basically as long as you don't quit, this solution will work.  I guess you could always just have this in the Dock for easy access in case you accidentally quit.  Just need to get into the habit of pressing ⌘+W instead of ⌘+Q when finished with the editing/sharing dialog.

Whilst I somewhat enjoy these rabbit holes, I do still wish they would get this fixed properly.  We've done most of the work for them

[camslice 1]

FYI I've unmarked the previous "solution".  We still need this bug to be addressed properly by the application developers.

[PinkElephant 8,077]

The forum is user 2 user. Nothing happens because you drop a post here.

Issue a support ticket and talk to EN directly.

[camslice 1]

Thanks @PinkElephant, I've contacted a few staff members directly but not getting any replies.

Ok this link seems to work for submitting a support ticket: https://www.evernote.com/SupportLogin.action

Note: you have to be on at least a "Personal" plan for email support. Chat support requires a "Professional" plan

I just signed up for a "Personal" plan for the sole purpose of submitting this support ticket in a quest to get this bug resolved

[PinkElephant 8,077]

Hi - just for the protocol: Chat support access starts with the "old" Premium subscription.

But for this case, chat would probably not help - it is more for a small, fast question, not for complex issues.

You can ask support as well if they have a separate channel to stay in touch with developers. I am not aware of it, but I am no developer either.