OOTP gives commissioners two ways to get the league file to managers, and the choice matters more than most people realise. The OOTP manual describes HTTP as "the most secure option available and requires the least configuration."
Most commissioners never notice the option and configure FTP for everything.
The two methods
| HTTP download | FTP download | |
|---|---|---|
| Manager needs credentials | No | Yes — embedded in the league file |
| Configuration | One URL | Host, port, username, password, path |
| Setting in OOTP | Leave "Use FTP to download league file" unchecked | Check it |
| Failure modes | Wrong URL | Wrong credentials, mode, path, or port |
This choice affects downloads only. Team exports always go over FTP — there is no HTTP upload path in OOTP.
Why HTTP is usually the better choice
You are not handing FTP credentials to everyone. With FTP download, the account details get embedded in the league file distributed to every manager. Anyone in your league can read them.
It has fewer ways to break. A URL either resolves or it does not. FTP download can fail on the host, the port, the mode, the path, the credentials, or a firewall — and the resulting error codes are terse.
It sidesteps a very common trap. With FTP download, the commissioner must check "Save FTP account data for league file download in league file". The manual is blunt: if left unchecked, "human managers will be unable to download the league file via FTP." This is one of the most common reasons a league where "the commissioner can connect but nobody else can" is stuck.
Setting up HTTP download
- Open Game Settings → Online League → Online League Settings.
- In the League File Download section, uncheck "Use FTP to download league file".
- Enter the League File URL — the full web address of your league file.
- Test it.
Replace OOTP's yourdomain.com placeholder with a real URL. Leaving the
placeholder is its own common failure.
On SimHosts, your league file is served over HTTPS automatically:
https://your-league.simhosts.com/leaguefile/
No extra configuration — uploading over FTP publishes it to the web immediately.
When to use FTP download instead
- Your host provides FTP but does not serve files over the web.
- You want the league file behind credentials rather than publicly fetchable.
That second point is a real consideration. An HTTP league file URL is readable by anyone who has it. For most leagues that is fine — it is a baseball save file — but if yours is private, FTP download with credentials is the stricter option.
What this does not change
Managers still export their teams over FTP, so they still need Passive mode
set correctly, and the /exports directory still needs to be writable. Moving
downloads to HTTP removes half the problem surface, not all of it.
See OOTP online league FTP settings for the upload side.