NAME

sftp —

secure file transfer program

SYNOPSIS

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 the sftp client to start in a remote directory.

The final usage format allows for automated sessions using the -b option. In such cases, it is usually necessary to configure public key 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
ConnectionTimeout
GlobalKnownHostsFile
GSSAPIAuthentication
GSSAPIDelegateCredentials
Host
HostbasedAuthentication
HostKeyAlgorithms
HostKeyAlias
HostName
IdentityFile
LogLevel
MACs
NoHostAuthenticationForLocalhost
NumberOfPasswordPrompts
PasswordAuthentication
Port
PreferredAuthentications
Protocol
ProxyCommand
PubkeyAuthentication
RhostsRSAAuthentication
RSAAuthentication
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 and pathnames may be enclosed in quotes if they contain spaces.

bye: Quit sftp.
cd path: Change remote directory to path.
chgrp grp path: Change group of file path to grp. grp must be a numeric GID.
chmod mode path: Change permissions of file path to mode.
chown own path: Change owner of file path to own. own must be a numeric UID.
exit: Quit sftp.
get [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.
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.
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 [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.
lumask umask: Set local umask to umask.
mkdir path: Create remote directory specified by path.
progress: Toggle display of progress meter.
put [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.
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