> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.scanoss.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Downloading the SCANOSS Knowledge Base

> Instructions for obtaining and configuring the SCANOSS Knowledge Base for on-premise deployments.

In order to access the full capabilities of SCANOSS, you need to deploy several components:

* The [LDB](https://github.com/scanoss/ldb) — the database that will contain the Knowledge Base
* The [SCANOSS Engine](https://github.com/scanoss/engine) — the inventory engine that provides scanning and searching capabilities over LDB
* The SCANOSS Encoder Library — provides data encoding capabilities
* The API — provides a RESTful API for SCANOSS that can be accessed remotely by clients such as [SCANOSS-PY](https://github.com/scanoss/scanoss.py)

This section describes how to download and prepare the Knowledge Base for your local installation.

## Secure Access

You will receive **authentication credentials via email** before you can access the SCANOSS Knowledge Base.
If you have not received your credentials, contact [support@scanoss.com](mailto:support@scanoss.com).

## Connecting via the CLI

You can copy the Knowledge Base using a **Secure FTP (SFTP)** connection, authenticating with your provided credentials.

Run the following command to connect:

```bash theme={null}
sftp -P PORT USER@HOST
```

**Example**:

```bash theme={null}
sftp -P 49322 SL2@sftp.scanoss.com
```

## Downloading Files

Once connected, you will enter an interactive SFTP session where you can download files using the `get` command:

```bash theme={null}
sftp> get {{ file_path }}
```

All content under `/ldb/compressed/` is required for the installation and must be downloaded locally.

To download an entire directory recursively, use the `-r` flag:

```bash theme={null}
sftp> get -r {{ file_dir }}
```

**Example**: Download all Knowledge Base tables for the 23.08 monthly release:

```bash theme={null}
sftp> get -r /ldb/compressed/full/23.08/
```

## Connecting via an SFTP Client

Configure your preferred SFTP client using the connection details shown in the screenshot below.
Ensure the protocol is set to **SFTP**, and enter the host, port, and credentials exactly as provided in your welcome email.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/scanoss/QpUtLiXoiWI24wVL/en/latest/installation/on-prem/deployment-guide/images/sftp-site-manager-setup.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=QpUtLiXoiWI24wVL&q=85&s=1fd38439cb814f1bc864c77a101b76e5" alt="FileZilla SFTP Site Manager Setup" width="611" height="513" data-path="en/latest/installation/on-prem/deployment-guide/images/sftp-site-manager-setup.png" />

## Usage Instructions

To use the downloaded Knowledge Base, place the `oss` directory under `/var/lib/ldb/`.

You can copy its contents directly to that directory, mount a volume, or create a symbolic link if the data resides on a separate disk or volume.

For example, if your LDB data is downloaded to `/data/ldb`, run the following to create a symbolic link:

```bash theme={null}
sudo ln -s /data/ldb /var/lib/ldb
```

## Setting Permissions

After placing the Knowledge Base files, ensure that the `scanoss` user has ownership of the `oss` directory.
This is required to prevent permission errors at runtime:

```bash theme={null}
sudo chown -R scanoss:scanoss /var/lib/ldb/oss
```

If the files were copied or extracted as `root`, the `scanoss` user will not have the necessary read permissions without this step.

Once all files are correctly placed and permissions are set, proceed with the
[Installation from Sources](installing-from-sources/ldb-installation) to continue setting up your on-premise deployment.