SFTP(1) | General Commands Manual | SFTP(1)

# NAME

`sftp` — OpenSSH secure file transfer

# SYNOPSIS

`sftp` | [`-46AaCfNpqrv`] [`-B` buffer_size] [`-b` batchfile] [`-c` cipher] [`-D` sftp_server_command] [`-F` ssh_config] [`-i` identity_file] [`-J` destination] [`-l` limit] [`-o` ssh_option] [`-P` port] [`-R` num_requests] [`-S` program] [`-s` subsystem | sftp_server] [`-X` sftp_option] destination

# DESCRIPTION

`sftp` is a 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.

The destination may be specified either as [user@]host[:path] or as a URI in the form sftp://[user@]host[:port][/path].

If the destination includes a path and it is not a directory, `sftp` will retrieve files automatically if a non-interactive authentication method is used; otherwise it will do so after successful interactive authentication.

If no path is specified, or if the path is a directory, `sftp` will log in to the specified host and enter interactive command mode, changing to the remote directory if one was specified. An optional trailing slash can be used to force the path to be interpreted as a directory.

Since the destination formats use colon characters to delimit host names from path names or port numbers, IPv6 addresses must be enclosed in square brackets to avoid ambiguity.

The options are as follows:

`-4`
  Forces `sftp` to use IPv4 addresses only.
`-6`
  Forces `sftp` to use IPv6 addresses only.
`-A`
  Allows forwarding of ssh-agent(1) to the remote system. The default is not to forward an authentication agent.
`-a`
  Attempt to continue interrupted transfers rather than overwriting existing partial or complete copies of files. If the partial contents differ from those being transferred, then the resultant file is likely to be corrupt.
`-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 to obviate the need to enter a password at connection time (see sshd(8) and ssh-keygen(1) for details).

  A batchfile of ‘-’ may be used to indicate standard input. `sftp` will abort if any of the following commands fail: `get`, `put`, `reget`, `reput`, `rename`, `ln`, `rm`, `mkdir`, `chdir`, `ls`, `lchdir`, `copy`, `cp`, `chmod`, `chown`, `chgrp`, `lpwd`, `df`, `symlink`, 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*`). Echo of the command may be suppressed by prefixing the command with a ‘@’ character. These two prefixes may be combined in any order, for example `-@ls /bsd`.

`-C`
  Enables compression (via ssh's `-C` flag).
`-c` cipher
  Selects the cipher to use for encrypting the data transfers. This option is directly passed to ssh(1).
`-D` sftp_server_command
  Connect directly to a local sftp server (rather than via ssh(1)). A command and arguments may be specified, for example "/path/sftp-server -el debug3". This option may be useful in debugging the client and server.
`-F` ssh_config
  Specifies an alternative per-user configuration file for ssh(1). This option is directly passed to ssh(1).
`-f`
  Requests that files be flushed to disk immediately after transfer. When uploading files, this feature is only enabled if the server implements the "fsync@openssh.com" extension.
`-i` identity_file
  Selects the file from which the identity (private key) for public key authentication is read. This option is directly passed to ssh(1).
`-J` destination
  Connect to the target host by first making an `sftp` connection to the jump host described by destination and then establishing a TCP forwarding to the ultimate destination from there. Multiple jump hops may be specified separated by comma characters. This is a shortcut to specify a `ProxyJump` configuration directive. This option is directly passed to ssh(1).
`-l` limit
  Limits the used bandwidth, specified in Kbit/s.
`-N`
  Disables quiet mode, e.g. to override the implicit quiet mode set by the `-b` flag.
`-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).

  AddKeysToAgent
  AddressFamily
  BatchMode
  BindAddress
  BindInterface
  CASignatureAlgorithms
  CanonicalDomains
  CanonicalizeFallbackLocal
  CanonicalizeHostname
  CanonicalizeMaxDots
  CanonicalizePermittedCNAMEs
  CertificateFile
  ChannelTimeout
  CheckHostIP
  Ciphers
  ClearAllForwardings
  Compression
  ConnectTimeout
  ConnectionAttempts
  ControlMaster
  ControlPath
  ControlPersist
  DynamicForward
  EnableEscapeCommandline
  EnableSSHKeysign
  EscapeChar
  ExitOnForwardFailure
  FingerprintHash
  ForkAfterAuthentication
  ForwardAgent
  ForwardX11
  ForwardX11Timeout
  ForwardX11Trusted
  GSSAPIAuthentication
  GSSAPIDelegateCredentials
  GatewayPorts
  GlobalKnownHostsFile
  HashKnownHosts
  Host
  HostKeyAlgorithms
  HostKeyAlias
  HostbasedAcceptedAlgorithms
  HostbasedAuthentication
  Hostname
  IPQoS
  IdentitiesOnly
  IdentityAgent
  IdentityFile
  IgnoreUnknown
  Include
  KbdInteractiveAuthentication
  KbdInteractiveDevices
  KexAlgorithms
  KnownHostsCommand
  LocalCommand
  LocalForward
  LogLevel
  LogVerbose
  MACs
  NoHostAuthenticationForLocalhost
  NumberOfPasswordPrompts
  ObscureKeystrokeTiming
  PKCS11Provider
  PasswordAuthentication
  PermitLocalCommand
  PermitRemoteOpen
  Port
  PreferredAuthentications
  ProxyCommand
  ProxyJump
  ProxyUseFdpass
  PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms
  PubkeyAuthentication
  RekeyLimit
  RemoteCommand
  RemoteForward
  RequestTTY
  RequiredRSASize
  RevokedHostKeys
  SecurityKeyProvider
  SendEnv
  ServerAliveCountMax
  ServerAliveInterval
  SessionType
  SetEnv
  StdinNull
  StreamLocalBindMask
  StreamLocalBindUnlink
  StrictHostKeyChecking
  SyslogFacility
  TCPKeepAlive
  Tag
  Tunnel
  TunnelDevice
  UpdateHostKeys
  User
  UserKnownHostsFile
  VerifyHostKeyDNS
  VisualHostKey
  XAuthLocation
`-P` port
  Specifies the port to connect to on the remote host.
`-p`
  Preserves modification times, access times, and modes from the original files transferred.
`-q`
  Quiet mode: disables the progress meter as well as warning and diagnostic messages from ssh(1).
`-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 64 outstanding requests.
`-r`
  Recursively copy entire directories when uploading and downloading. Note that `sftp` does not follow symbolic links encountered in the tree traversal.
`-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 when the remote sshd(8) does not have an sftp subsystem configured.
`-v`
  Raise logging level. This option is also passed to ssh.
`-X` sftp_option
  Specify an option that controls aspects of SFTP protocol behaviour. The valid options are:
  `nrequests`=value
    Controls how many concurrent SFTP read or write requests may be in progress at any point in time during a download or upload. By default 64 requests may be active concurrently.
  `buffer`=value
    Controls the maximum buffer size for a single SFTP read/write operation used during download or upload. By default a 32KB buffer is used.

# 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. If path is not specified, then change directory to the one the session started in.
`chgrp` [`-h`] grp path
  Change group of file path to grp. path may contain glob(7) characters and may match multiple files. grp must be a numeric GID.

  If the `-h` flag is specified, then symlinks will not be followed. Note that this is only supported by servers that implement the "lsetstat@openssh.com" extension.

`chmod` [`-h`] mode path
  Change permissions of file path to mode. path may contain glob(7) characters and may match multiple files.

  If the `-h` flag is specified, then symlinks will not be followed. Note that this is only supported by servers that implement the "lsetstat@openssh.com" extension.

`chown` [`-h`] own path
  Change owner of file path to own. path may contain glob(7) characters and may match multiple files. own must be a numeric UID.

  If the `-h` flag is specified, then symlinks will not be followed. Note that this is only supported by servers that implement the "lsetstat@openssh.com" extension.

`copy` oldpath newpath
  Copy remote file from oldpath to newpath.

  Note that this is only supported by servers that implement the "copy-data" extension.

`cp` oldpath newpath
  Alias to `copy` command.
`df` [`-hi`] [path]
  Display usage information for the filesystem holding the current directory (or path if specified). If the `-h` flag is specified, the capacity information will be displayed using "human-readable" suffixes. The `-i` flag requests display of inode information in addition to capacity information. This command is only supported on servers that implement the “statvfs@openssh.com” extension.
`exit`
  Quit `sftp`.
`get` [`-afpR`] 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(7) characters and may match multiple files. If it does and local-path is specified, then local-path must specify a directory.

  If the `-a` flag is specified, then attempt to resume partial transfers of existing files. Note that resumption assumes that any partial copy of the local file matches the remote copy. If the remote file contents differ from the partial local copy then the resultant file is likely to be corrupt.

  If the `-f` flag is specified, then fsync(2) will be called after the file transfer has completed to flush the file to disk.

  If the `-p` flag is specified, then full file permissions and access times are copied too.

  If the `-R` flag is specified then directories will be copied recursively. Note that `sftp` does not follow symbolic links when performing recursive transfers.

`help`
  Display help text.
`lcd` [path]
  Change local directory to path. If path is not specified, then change directory to the local user's home directory.
`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(7) characters and may match multiple files.
`lmkdir` path
  Create local directory specified by path.
`ln` [`-s`] oldpath newpath
  Create a link from oldpath to newpath. If the `-s` flag is specified the created link is a symbolic link, otherwise it is a hard link.
`lpwd`
  Print local working directory.
`ls` [`-1afhlnrSt`] [path]
  Display a remote directory listing of either path or the current directory if path is not specified. path may contain glob(7) 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.
  `-h`
    When used with a long format option, use unit suffixes: Byte, Kilobyte, Megabyte, Gigabyte, Terabyte, Petabyte, and Exabyte in order to reduce the number of digits to four or fewer using powers of 2 for sizes (K=1024, M=1048576, etc.).
  `-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` [`-afpR`] 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(7) characters and may match multiple files. If it does and remote-path is specified, then remote-path must specify a directory.

  If the `-a` flag is specified, then attempt to resume partial transfers of existing files. Note that resumption assumes that any partial copy of the remote file matches the local copy. If the local file contents differ from the remote local copy then the resultant file is likely to be corrupt.

  If the `-f` flag is specified, then a request will be sent to the server to call fsync(2) after the file has been transferred. Note that this is only supported by servers that implement the "fsync@openssh.com" extension.

  If the `-p` flag is specified, then full file permissions and access times are copied too.

  If the `-R` flag is specified then directories will be copied recursively. Note that `sftp` does not follow symbolic links when performing recursive transfers.

`pwd`
  Display remote working directory.
`quit`
  Quit `sftp`.
`reget` [`-fpR`] remote-path [local-path]
  Resume download of remote-path. Equivalent to `get` with the `-a` flag set.
`reput` [`-fpR`] local-path [remote-path]
  Resume upload of local-path. Equivalent to `put` with the `-a` flag set.
`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.

# SEE ALSO

ftp(1), ls(1), scp(1), ssh(1), ssh-add(1), ssh-keygen(1), ssh_config(5), glob(7), 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.

December 6, 2024 | Debian