SCP Linux Command – How to SSH File Transfer from Remote to Local
SCP Syntax
scp [OPTIONS] [[user@]src_host:]file1 [[user@]dest_host:]file2
- scp - It initializes the command and ensures a secure shell is in place.
- OPTIONS - They grant different permissions depending on how they have been used. Some of the most common options include:
- P(Caps) - specifies the port to establish connection with the remote host.
- p(lowercase) - preserves the times-tamp for ease of modification and access.
- r - copies the entire directory recursively
- q - copies files quietly, doesn't display the progress messages. Also known as quiet mode.
- C - for compression of data during transmission.
- To understand more about OPTIONS read scp options
- src_host - where the file is hosted. The source can either be a client or server depending on the origin of the file.
- dest_host - where the file will be copied to.
Examples
Copy File from Local Host to Remote Host
scp test.txt user@destination:/location
Copy all files ending in php to Remote Host
scp *.php user@destination:/~/
- *.php - copies all the files with the .php extension in the currently specified folder.
- /~/ - means copy them to the home directory.
Copy a file with one name but save it on remote host with a different filename
scp -P 8080 test.txt user@destination:/user/home/test2.txt
Copy Files from Remote Host to Local Host
scp <remote_username>@<IPorHost>:<PathToFile> <LocalFileLocation>
Copy File test2.txt from Remote Host to Local Host
scp user@remotehost:test2.txt .
Copy Files from Remote Host to another Remote Host
scp [email protected]:/files/test.txt [email protected]:/files
Copy Multiple Files
scp file1 file2 ... user@<ip_address_of_user>: Destination
So SCP is a very powerful tool when needing to move files around between systems over the network
