SFTP(1) General Commands Manual SFTP(1)

sftp —
Secure file transfer program

sftp [-vC1] [-b batchfile] [-o ssh_option] [-s subsystem | sftp_server] [-B buffer_size] [-F ssh_config] [-P sftp_server path] [-R num_requests] [-S program] host

sftp [[user@]host[:file [file]]]

sftp [[user@]host[:dir[/]]]

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 last usage format allows the sftp client to start in a remote directory.

The options are as follows:

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. sftp will abort if any of the following commands fail: get, put, rename, ln, rm, mkdir, chdir, lchdir and lmkdir.
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.
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 does not have an sftp subsystem configured.
Raise logging level. This option is also passed to ssh.
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.
Enables compression (via ssh's -C flag).
ssh_config
Specifies an alternative per-user configuration file for ssh. This option is directly passed to ssh(1).
sftp_server path
Connect directly to a local sftp-server (rather than via ssh) This option may be useful in debugging the client and server.
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.
program
Name of the program to use for the encrypted connection. The program must understand ssh(1) options.
Specify the use of protocol version 1.

Once in interactive mode, sftp understands a set of commands similar to those of ftp(1). Commands are case insensitive and pathnames may be enclosed in quotes if they contain spaces.
Quit sftp.
path
Change remote directory to path.
path
Change local directory to path.
grp path
Change group of file path to grp. grp must be a numeric GID.
mode path
Change permissions of file path to mode.
own path
Change owner of file path to own. own must be a numeric UID.
Quit sftp.
[flags] 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. If the -P flag is specified, then the file's full permission and access time are copied too.
Display help text.
[ls-options [path]]
Display local directory listing of either path or current directory if path is not specified.
path
Create local directory specified by path.
oldpath newpath
Create a symbolic link from oldpath to newpath.
Print local working directory.
[flags] [path]
Display remote directory listing of either path or current directory if path is not specified. If the -l flag is specified, then display additional details including permissions and ownership information.
umask
Set local umask to umask.
path
Create remote directory specified by path.
[flags] 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. If the -P flag is specified, then the file's full permission and access time are copied too.
Display remote working directory.
Quit sftp.
oldpath newpath
Rename remote file from oldpath to newpath.
path
Remove remote directory specified by path.
path
Delete remote file specified by path.
oldpath newpath
Create a symbolic link from oldpath to newpath.
! command
Execute command in local shell.
!
Escape to local shell.
?
Synonym for help.

Damien Miller <djm@mindrot.org>

scp(1), ssh(1), ssh-add(1), ssh-keygen(1), ssh_config(5), sftp-server(8), sshd(8)

T. Ylonen and S. Lehtinen, SSH File Transfer Protocol, draft-ietf-secsh-filexfer-00.txt, January 2001, work in progress material.

February 4, 2001 BSD