SFTP(1)

NAME
sftp - secure file transfer program

SYNOPSIS
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 -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:

-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. 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*).

-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.

-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.

-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.

-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).

-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.

-1  Specify the use of protocol version 1.

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.

lcd path
    Change local 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.

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.

rmdir path
    Remove remote directory specified by path.

rm path
    Delete remote file 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
scp(1), ssh(1), ssh-add(1), ssh-keygen(1), ssh_config(5), sftp-server(8), sshd(8) T. Ylonen, S. Lehtinen, SSH File Transfer Protocol, draft-ietf-secsh-filexfer-00.txt, January 2001, work in progress material.