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 smith@server.example.com

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 initial connection is established.
b On Tectia, get and mget are equivalent, and so are put and mput.
Basic commands
open	Open a connection to the remote machine a	Tectia
lopen	Open a connection to the local machine a	Tectia
close	Close the connection to the remote machine	Tectia
lclose	Close the connection to the local machine	Tectia
bye, quit	Quit sftp	OpenSSH, Tectia
exit	Quit sftp	OpenSSH
help	Print a help message	OpenSSH, Tectia
?	Print a help message	OpenSSH
version	Display the SFTP protocol version	OpenSSH
!	Shell escape: execute a local shell or command	OpenSSH
Directory commands
ls	List files in a remote directory	OpenSSH, Tectia
lls	List files in a local directory	OpenSSH, Tectia
cd	Change the remote working directory	OpenSSH, Tectia
lcd	Change the local working directory	OpenSSH, Tectia
pwd	Print the name of the remote working directory	OpenSSH, Tectia
lpwd	Print the name of the local working directory	OpenSSH, Tectia
mkdir	Create a remote directory	OpenSSH, Tectia
lmkdir	Create a local directory	OpenSSH, Tectia
rmdir	Delete a remote directory	OpenSSH, Tectia
lrmdir	Delete a local directory	Tectia
lsroots	List virtual roots of a VShell SSH server [17.9]	Tectia
File commands
get	Download a file from the remote machine	OpenSSH, Tectia b
mget	Download multiple files by wildcard	OpenSSH, Tectia b
put	Upload a file to the remote machine	OpenSSH, Tectia b
mput	Upload multiple files to the remote machine	OpenSSH, Tectia b
rename	Rename a remote file	OpenSSH, Tectia
lrename	Rename a local file	Tectia
ln, symlink	Create a symbolic link on the remote machine	OpenSSH
rm	Delete a remote file	OpenSSH, Tectia
lrm	Delete a local file	Tectia
chmod	Change the permissions on a remote file	OpenSSH, Tectia
lchmod	Change the permissions on the local file	Tectia
chown	Change the owner of a remote file	OpenSSH
chgrp	Change the group ownership of a remote file	OpenSSH
Transfer settings
binary	Transfer all files as binary	Tectia
ascii	Transfer all files as ASCII	Tectia
auto	Determine the file type using the "setext" list	Tectia
getext	Print the list of file extensions that indicate text files	Tectia
setext	Set the list of file extensions that indicate text files	Tectia
lumask	Set the umask for downloaded files	OpenSSH
progress	Toggle the display of a progress meter for file transfers	OpenSSH

7.6.2 Command-Line Options

Virtually all command-line options available to scp will work for sftp. [7.5]