AppleTalk Filing Protocol

The AppleTalk Filing Protocol (AFP) enables file sharing across a network. Clients can gain access to files on remote servers by using native file system commands. AFP also provides user authentication and file access control. On Macintosh computers, the AFP server is implemented as AppleShare. AFP is built on top of the AppleTalk Session Protocol (ASP), if AppleTalk is being used, or on top of the Data Stream Interface (DSI), if TCP/IP is being used.

AFP is concerned with file system components, such as files, Macintosh folders, volumes, and forks, and AFP calls, which are used by the client to access information about the file server and services as well as make changes to files and directories.