SFTP(1)                    OpenBSD Reference Manual                    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 compres-
     sion.  sftp connects and logs into the specified host, then enters an in-
     teractive command mode.

     The second usage format will retrieve files automatically if a non-inter-
     active authentication method is used; otherwise it will do so after suc-
     cessful interactive authentication.

     The third usage format allows the sftp client to start in a remote direc-
     tory.

     The final usage format allows for automated sessions using the -b option.
     In such cases, it is usually necessary to configure public key authenti-
     cation 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 in-
             stead 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 sub-
             system 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 en-
     closed 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 direc-
             tory 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 direc-
             tory 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 re-
             mote 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, and S. Lehtinen, SSH File Transfer Protocol, draft-ietf-secsh-
     filexfer-00.txt, January 2001, work in progress material.

OpenBSD 3.4                    February 4, 2001                              3
