The sftp command is a secure alternative to ftp and is functionally the same as ftp. Use sftp instead of ftp when logging on to a server that is running the OpenSSH daemon, sshd. The major difference between sftp and ftp is that the former uses encryption to transfer password over network whereas the later does not.
sftp syntax
The format to connect to a remote system is:
# sftp [options] [user@]host
Enter help or ? to display a list of sftp commands.
sftp> help
Available commands:
bye Quit sftp
cd path Change remote directory to 'path'
chgrp grp path Change group of file 'path' to 'grp'
chmod mode path Change permissions of file 'path' to 'mode'
chown own path Change owner of file 'path' to 'own'
df [-hi] [path] Display statistics for current directory or
filesystem containing 'path'
exit Quit sftp
get [-Ppr] remote [local] Download file
reget remote [local] Resume download file
help Display this help text
lcd path Change local directory to 'path'
lls [ls-options [path]] Display local directory listing
lmkdir path Create local directory
ln [-s] oldpath newpath Link remote file (-s for symlink)
lpwd Print local working directory
ls [-1afhlnrSt] [path] Display remote directory listing
lumask umask Set local umask to 'umask'
mkdir path Create remote directory
progress Toggle display of progress meter
put [-Ppr] local [remote] Upload file
pwd Display remote working directory
quit Quit sftp
rename oldpath newpath Rename remote file
rm path Delete remote file
rmdir path Remove remote directory
symlink oldpath newpath Symlink remote file
version Show SFTP version
!command Execute 'command' in local shell
! Escape to local shell
? Synonym for help
sftp> Connecting remote system using sftp
The following example assumes that you are logged on to your local system as user testuser and are connecting to a remote system 192.168.219.149:
$ sftp testuser@192.168.219.149 Connecting to 192.168.219.149... testuser@192.168.219.149 password: Connected to 192.168.219.149. sftp>
After providing the correct password, you are presented with an sftp> prompt as shown. Enter help or ? to display a list of available commands.
Navigating directories and listing files
1. To find the current directory on the local server:
sftp> lpwd Local working directory: /root
2. To find the current working directory on the remote host:
sftp> pwd Remote working directory: /root
3. Similarly, to change the directory on local server use lcd command :
sftp> lcd /tmp
4. To change the directory on remote server use cd command:
sftp> cd /tmp
5. To list files in the current directory on the remote server :
sftp> ls anaconda-ks.cfg initial-setup-ks.cfg test
6. To list files in the current directory on the local server :
sftp> lls file1 file2 file3
Creating and removing directories
1. To create a new directory on the remote server:
sftp> mkdir data
2. To create a new directory on the local server:
sftp> lmkdir testdir
Upload files and directories using sftp
1. The following example uploads a file, or copies the file from the local system to the remote system:
sftp> put file1
2. To transfer more than one files to remote host use the mput (multiple put) command.
sftp> mput file1 file2 file3
3. To be able to transfer directory to remote host, you have to first create a directory on the remote host and the start the transfer.
sftp> mkdir /dir sftp> put -r dir/
Download files or directories using sftp
1. To Download a single file from the remote host use the get command.
sftp> get file1
2. To download multiple files use the below command.
sftp> mget file1 file2 file3
3. To download a directory recursively (with all its contents) :
get -r dir
Exit or quit sftp
Enter exit, quit, or bye to close the connection and exit sftp.
sftp> bye
or
sftp> quit
or
sftp> exit