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sftp [-1Cv] [-B buffer_size] [-b batchfile] [-F ssh_config] [-o ssh_option] [-P sftp_server_path] [-R num_requests] [-S program] [-s subsystem | sftp_server] host
sftp [[user@]host[:file [file]]]
sftp [[user@]host[:dir[/]]]
sftp -b batchfile [user@]host

Description

sftp is an interactive file transfer program, similar to ftp(1) , which performs all operations over an encrypted ssh(1) transport. It may also use many features of ssh, such as public key authentication and compression. sftp connects and logs into the specified host, then enters an interactive command mode.

The second usage format will retrieve files automatically if a non-interactive authentication method is used; otherwise it will do so after successful interactive authentication.

The third usage format allows sftp to start in a remote directory.

The final usage format allows for automated sessions using the -b option. In such cases, it is necessary to configure non-interactive authentication to obviate the need to enter a password at connection time (see sshd(8) and ssh-keygen(1) for details). The options are as follows:

-1: Specify the use of protocol version 1.
-B buffer_size: Specify the size of the buffer that sftp uses when transferring files. Larger buffers require fewer round trips at the cost of higher memory consumption. The default is 32768 bytes.
-b batchfile: Batch mode reads a series of commands from an input batchfile instead of stdin. Since it lacks user interaction it should be used in conjunction with non-interactive authentication. A batchfile of ‘-’ may be used to indicate standard input. sftp will abort if any of the following commands fail: get, put, rename, ln, rm, mkdir, chdir, ls, lchdir, chmod, chown, chgrp, lpwd and lmkdir. Termination on error can be suppressed on a command by command basis by prefixing the command with a ‘-’ character (for example, -rm /tmp/blah*).
-C: Enables compression (via ssh’s -C flag).
-F ssh_config: Specifies an alternative per-user configuration file for ssh(1) . This option is directly passed to ssh(1) .
-o ssh_option: Can be used to pass options to ssh in the format used in ssh_config(5) . This is useful for specifying options for which there is no separate sftp command-line flag. For example, to specify an alternate port use: sftp -oPort=24. For full details of the options listed below, and their possible values, see ssh_config(5) .

AddressFamily
BatchMode
BindAddress
ChallengeResponseAuthentication CheckHostIP
Cipher
Ciphers
Compression
CompressionLevel
ConnectionAttempts
ConnectTimeout
ControlMaster
ControlPath
GlobalKnownHostsFile
GSSAPIAuthentication
GSSAPIDelegateCredentials
HashKnownHosts
Host
HostbasedAuthentication
HostKeyAlgorithms
HostKeyAlias
HostName
IdentityFile
IdentitiesOnly
KbdInteractiveDevices
LogLevel
MACs
NoHostAuthenticationForLocalhost NumberOfPasswordPrompts
PasswordAuthentication
Port
PreferredAuthentications
Protocol
ProxyCommand
PubkeyAuthentication
RekeyLimit
RhostsRSAAuthentication
RSAAuthentication
SendEnv
ServerAliveInterval
ServerAliveCountMax
SmartcardDevice
StrictHostKeyChecking
TCPKeepAlive
UsePrivilegedPort
User
UserKnownHostsFile
VerifyHostKeyDNS

-P sftp_server_path: Connect directly to a local sftp server (rather than via ssh(1) ). This option may be useful in debugging the client and server.
-R num_requests: Specify how many requests may be outstanding at any one time. Increasing this may slightly improve file transfer speed but will increase memory usage. The default is 16 outstanding requests.
-S program: Name of the program to use for the encrypted connection. The program must understand ssh(1) options.
-s subsystem | sftp_server: Specifies the SSH2 subsystem or the path for an sftp server on the remote host. A path is useful for using sftp over protocol version 1, or when the remote sshd(8) does not have an sftp subsystem configured.
-v: Raise logging level. This option is also passed to ssh.

Interactive Commands

Once in interactive mode, sftp understands a set of commands similar to those of ftp(1) . Commands are case insensitive. Pathnames that contain spaces must be enclosed in quotes. Any special characters contained within pathnames that are recognized by glob(3) must be escaped with backslashes (’\’).

bye: Quit sftp.

cd path
Change remote directory to path.

chgrp grp path
Change group of file path to grp. path may contain glob(3) characters and may match multiple files. grp must be a numeric GID.

chmod mode path
Change permissions of file path to mode. path may contain glob(3) characters and may match multiple files.

chown own path
Change owner of file path to own. path may contain glob(3) characters and may match multiple files. own must be a numeric UID.

exit: Quit sftp.

get [-P] remote-path [local-path]
Retrieve the remote-path and store it on the local machine. If the local path name is not specified, it is given the same name it has on the remote machine. remote-path may contain glob(3) characters and may match multiple files. If it does and local-path is specified, then local-path must specify a directory. If the -P flag is specified, then full file permissions and access times are copied too.

help: Display help text.

lcd path
Change local directory to path.

lls [ls-options [path]]
Display local directory listing of either path or current directory if path is not specified. ls-options may contain any flags supported by the local system’s ls(1) command. path may contain glob(3) characters and may match multiple files.

lmkdir path
Create local directory specified by path.

ln oldpath newpath
Create a symbolic link from oldpath to newpath.

lpwd: Print local working directory.

ls [-1aflnrSt] [path]
Display a remote directory listing of either path or the current directory if path is not specified. path may contain glob(3) characters and may match multiple files.

The following flags are recognized and alter the behaviour of ls accordingly:

-1: Produce single columnar output.
-a: List files beginning with a dot (’.’).
-f: Do not sort the listing. The default sort order is lexicographical.
-l: Display additional details including permissions and ownership information.
-n: Produce a long listing with user and group information presented numerically.
-r: Reverse the sort order of the listing.
-S: Sort the listing by file size.
-t: Sort the listing by last modification time.

lumask umask
Set local umask to umask.

mkdir path
Create remote directory specified by path.

progress
Toggle display of progress meter.

put [-P] local-path [remote-path]
Upload local-path and store it on the remote machine. If the remote path name is not specified, it is given the same name it has on the local machine. local-path may contain glob(3) characters and may match multiple files. If it does and remote-path is specified, then remote-path must specify a directory. If the -P flag is specified, then the file’s full permission and access time are copied too.

pwd: Display remote working directory.
quit: Quit sftp.

rename oldpath newpath
Rename remote file from oldpath to newpath.

rm path
Delete remote file specified by path.

rmdir path
Remove remote directory specified by path.

symlink oldpath newpath
Create a symbolic link from oldpath to newpath.

version
Display the sftp protocol version.

! command
Execute command in local shell.

!: Escape to local shell.
?: Synonym for help.

Name

Synopsis

Description

Interactive Commands

See Also