sftp(1)
NAME
sftp - secure file transfer program
SYNOPSIS
sftp [-1246aCfpqrv] [-B buffer_size] [-b batchfile] [-c cipher] [-D
sftp_server_path] [-F ssh_config] [-i identity_file] [-l limit] [-o
ssh_option] [-P port] [-R num_requests] [-S program] [-s subsystem |
sftp_server] host
sftp [user@] host[: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).
Since some usage formats use colon characters to delimit host names
from path names, IPv6 addresses must be enclosed in square brackets to
avoid ambiguity.
The options are as follows:
-1 Specify the use of protocol version 1.
-2 Specify the use of protocol version 2.
-4 Forces sftp to use IPv4 addresses only.
-6 Forces sftp to use IPv6 addresses only.
-a Attempt to continue interrupted transfers rather than overwrit-
ing existing partial or complete copies of files. If the par-
tial 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. 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, chmod,
chown, chgrp, lpwd, df, symlink, and lmkdir. Termination on
error can be suppressed on a command by command basis by prefix-
ing the command with a `-' character (for example, -rm
/tmp/blah* ).
-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_path
Connect directly to a local sftp server (rather than via ssh(1))
. 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 trans-
fer. 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 pub-
lic key authentication is read. This option is directly passed
to ssh(1).
-l limit
Limits the used bandwidth, specified in Kbit/s.
-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
CanonicalDomains
CanonicalizeFallbackLocal
CanonicalizeHostname
CanonicalizeMaxDots
CanonicalizePermittedCNAMEs
CertificateFile
ChallengeResponseAuthentication
CheckHostIP
Cipher
Ciphers
Compression
CompressionLevel
ConnectionAttempts
ConnectTimeout
ControlMaster
ControlPath
ControlPersist
GlobalKnownHostsFile
GSSAPIAuthentication
GSSAPIDelegateCredentials
HashKnownHosts
Host
HostbasedAuthentication
HostbasedKeyTypes
HostKeyAlgorithms
HostKeyAlias
HostName
IdentitiesOnly
IdentityAgent
IdentityFile
IPQoS
KbdInteractiveAuthentication
KbdInteractiveDevices
KexAlgorithms
LogLevel
MACs
NoHostAuthenticationForLocalhost
NumberOfPasswordPrompts
PasswordAuthentication
PKCS11Provider
Port
PreferredAuthentications
Protocol
ProxyCommand
ProxyJump
PubkeyAuthentication
RekeyLimit
RhostsRSAAuthentication
RSAAuthentication
SendEnv
ServerAliveInterval
ServerAliveCountMax
StrictHostKeyChecking
TCPKeepAlive
UpdateHostKeys
UsePrivilegedPort
User
UserKnownHostsFile
VerifyHostKeyDNS
-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 download-
ing. 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 for using sftp over protocol
version 1, or when the remote sshd(8) does not have an sftp sub-
system 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 con-
tain spaces must be enclosed in quotes. Any special characters con-
tained 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.
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-read-
able" suffixes. The -i flag requests display of inode informa-
tion in addition to capacity information. This command is only
supported on servers that implement the ``statvfs@openssh.com''
extension.
exit Quit sftp.
get [-afPpr] 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 -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 either the -P or -p flag is specified, then full file permis-
sions 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.
lls [ls-options [path]]
Display local directory listing of either path or current direc-
tory 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 [-s] oldpath newpath
Create a link from oldpath to newpath. If the -s flag is speci-
fied 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(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 lexicograph-
ical.
-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 pow-
ers 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 [-afPpr] 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) char-
acters 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 either the -P or -p flag is specified, then full file permis-
sions 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 [-Ppr] remote-path [local-path]
Resume download of remote-path. Equivalent to get with the -a
flag set.
reput [-Ppr] [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.
! Ns 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), glob(3),
ssh_config(5), sftp-server(8), sshd(8)
S. Lehtinen and T. Ylonen, SSH File Transfer Protocol, draft-ietf-
secsh-filexfer-00.txt, January 2001, work in progress material.
July 16 2016 SFTP(1)
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