Using scp for file transfers

Using scp for file transfers

scp (Secure Copy Protocol) transfers files over SSH. Syntax: scp [options] source destination

See also: Using rsync for file transfers — better for large/repeated syncs.

Local to remote

Copy a file to a remote server:

scp ./local-file.txt user@hostname:/path/to/remote/

Copy a folder recursively:

scp -r ./local-folder user@hostname:/path/to/remote/

Remote to local

Download a file from remote:

scp user@hostname:/path/to/remote/file.txt ./local-folder/

Download a folder recursively:

scp -r user@hostname:/path/to/remote/folder ./local-folder/

Remote to remote

Copy between two remote servers:

scp user1@host1:/path/file.txt user2@host2:/path/destination/

With custom SSH key:

scp -i ~/path/to/key.pem user@hostname:/path/to/file.txt ./local/

Common options

• -r — Recursive (folders)
• -P port — Custom SSH port (note: capital P)
• -i keyfile — Specific private key
• -p — Preserve file permissions and times
• -v — Verbose output

Note

If hostname uses a custom SSH port, specify it with -P:

scp -P 2222 user@hostname:/path/file.txt ./local/