SSH, The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition

Secure, Interactive Copy with sftp

The sftp client is an alternative to scp, though under the hood it does mostly the same thing: it copies files between SSH client and server machines securely. The main difference is that sftp is interactive, with an interface much like the old FTP programs. [2.7.1]

7.6.1 Interactive Commands

To get started, run sftp with a remote hostname:

    $ sftp server.example.com

or username and hostname:

    $ sftp [e-mail]

You’ll get a prompt:

    sftp>

and now may type commands to transfer files between your local and remote machine. For example:

    sftp> cd remote_directory     Change to a particular remote directory
    sftp> ls                      List the names of available files
    sftp> get remotefile          Download the file "remotefile"
    sftp> get remotefile newname  Same as above, but the local file will be renamed as "newname"
    sftp> put localfile           Upload the file "localfile"
    sftp> put localfile othername Same as above, but the remote file will be renamed as "othername"
    sftp> quit                    Quit sftp

The basic use of sftp will feel familiar to anyone who’s used an FTP program. Use the cd command to move around the remote filesystem (or lcd for the local filesystem), ls to list the available remote files, and the get and put commands to download and upload files, respectively. Table 7-4 lists the interactive commands available during an sftp connection.

Table 7-4. Interactive commands for sftp, grouped by function

Command	Meaning	Support
a Not needed unless you run Tectia sftp with no arguments, so no ...